Unsolicited snowballs and other winter stuff...

I think I am going to approach this article, which is mostly a reflection of these past few days, a little bit  differently this time.  I'm going to break this one down into sections.

First, the "Things I had to do..."
 
Those of you who live in this area are probably pretty tired of this "old fashioned" winter by now.  And I can't really blame you.  If all you do is sit in the house and watch the snow pile up and listen to the winds, that gets real old, real quick.  We had some doozies last couple of nights.  Saturday it deposited several inches of snow and the winds piled it up in drifts 3-4 feet deep in places.  The plows had quite a time getting around that day and there was not much traffic on the roads.  It really didn't let up till Sunday morning, and then only for a couple of hours.  But there was enough of a break on Saturday to get the drive plowed out.  I couldn't get the Jeep in the garage because the drifting was so bad.

So, having accomplished that with the help of my neighbors and their snow blower, I thought I would look around and see what else was just "there" waiting to be discovered.

And then I got a reminder that I had forgotten to do some maintenance this past summer.  I had intended to replace the rubber strip thingie on the bottom of the garage doors.  They were pretty bad and some parts were completely gone, thus when it rained or blew, we would get a little trail of water in the garage.  Not much, but enough to remind me that it needed fixing.  Well, guess what, snow blows through the opening too.

I put this on the list of things to do this summer.  Just hope I don't lose that dang list again.

Second, "Remind me to thank Him for this warm house..."

Sunday night's winds were really fierce.  The gusts were topping the 30 m.p.h. mark when I went to bed, and they really roared all through the night.  I got up at 5 a.m. and went out to the "Pentagon" to sit for a while (mostly because my knee hurt) and just watched the snow blowing and listened to the winds.  It was strange though because the skies were clear and the moon was pretty bright.  With the snow on the ground, you could see for quite a ways.  I knew that it had to be pretty cold out there and should have looked at the weather machine to get a reading but didn't.

But that's when I saw a couple of things in the yard.  Couldn't really tell what they were until morning and then I saw that the winds had completely destroyed two of the bird feeders.  One was wooden and it looked like a bomb had gone off inside it...the pieces were literally torn completely apart.

The other one, the one we liked to call "The Red Roof Inn" was MIA.  All that we could find of it was the roof which was still tied to the tree and two sides.  The main body was not in the yard anywhere.  I would have thought at least it would be over by the fence  or by the shed.  Nope -- it probably went airborne and got blown clear across the field.  It could be over on the neighbor's landing strip or even further for all I know.

The wooden one was made in China.  The Red Roof Inn was made in Ohio.  I guess if someone wanted to try to make a claim for one country's products being superior to another, this wouldn't be the best case study.  I don't think it matters who made it, (except for the one Grandpa Joe made which is now probably 34 years old and still attached to the fence), it probably isn't going to stand up to Shelby County winds very well or very long.

So that means the birds will have to rely on us just putting feed on the ground and the winds and snow not covering it up too quickly.  I wonder if I can claim these on my home owners policy?

Third, "Signs of spring are out there..."

In the middle of all the cold, snow and wind, a beautiful cardinal just showed up one morning.  His bright red colors really stood out against the white.  We also, just this morning, saw two really fat robins out by the seed.  Although they were probably freezing their tail feathers, they were a welcome sight. Golf can't be too far off !!

Fourth, "There's drifting everywhere..."

In order to get out back to explore, I had to either trudge through a snow drift on the deck that was over my knees, or shovel a path to the two exits.  So, I took a few minutes and shoveled the path, figuring it would eventually be more convenient than a boot full of snow each time I went out.

Fifth, "The pond is frozen..."

For a few days now I had been meaning  to get out to the pond and see how thick it was frozen.  Considering we haven't had but one or maybe two days this month much over zero, let alone anywhere out of the teens, I figured it had to be pretty good.  It was just a question of how thick it would be.

This is a 9" deep hole I chopped this morning.  I always like to put one or two holes in the pond during the winter to let some oxygen get into the water.  And with it being totally covered with snow for pretty much all of three weeks, I figured the fish might like a little light. And it gives the birds some water too.

Now that I have determined the pond is sufficiently frozen to hold my weight, I thought I would send out a "howdy" to Quinn and Heath.  Guys, check this out...

I will probably get my skates on and tool around for a bit later on.  But at least, this makes another year that I have been able to get out on the ice.

And last, but not least, "Unsolicited snowballs..."

This is something I have never seen before.  The wind blew so hard last night, that it must have gotten a little bit of snow rolling along and it built up into a snow ball all on its own.  Look at these pictures.  You can see the little trails behind them where the wind had blown them and built them up.  Pretty cool.  Just another one of those things one might not have seen if you had just stayed in the house the whole time.

 Again, I had never seen such a thing.  Guess that just further intensifies the legend of "The Shelby County Winds."  And now you know why I call this "The land of the hundred mile per hour winds."

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in spring, summer and fall will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter....

Hooah