The Snow Arrived

This huge storm has been predicted for days - supposed to arrive tonight, then it sort of came on Monday, then due to really get here on Tuesday. And sure enough on Tuesday the winds started ~ a precursor up here of a definite change in the weather. After six weeks of glorious sunshine, the mountains and the ski slopes were ready for a change and more snow.

Tuesday: winds, all day. If you were out when they blew across you, it was Cold. If they weren't blowing and you were in the sun, it was warm in the upper 40s. But no snow. All the weather sites were way behind reality. Eleven am ~ supposed to be cloudy and snow; reality was bright sunshine and wind. Three pm ~ supposed to be raining; reality was bright sunshine and wind. The wind was fierce. Sixty to 100 mph over the passes that surround us. Have no idea what it was here at the house and things banged around some and at least one large limb fell from a tree in the back yard.

Finally at around 8 pm the predicted snow arrived. And it really arrived. It seemed that at 8:01 it wasn't snowing and at 8:02 we couldn't see the parking lot and the wind was slamming snow against the house. It was horizontal and hard. And it stayed that way all night.

The winds usually settle once the storm arrives and I guess they have a little. Once in a while though the snow whips to the left, turns and whips to the right, makes a slow curve and settles on coming down straight for a while. This is one of those days that I am glad Dean's office is in the house and neither of us has any where we Have to go - or be there for other people to come to us. Glad we went to the grocery store yesterday - not to "stock up" just to get some butter and lettuce and a few ordinary things we were low on. Now we have them though and can settle in for a while.

When the roads are clear and things settle down a bit on Friday the Powder Hounds will make it up the mountain to the ski slopes. Lovely. Snowshoeing out our back door will be delightful. In the meantime, a fire, hot tea or cocoa, a good book, some office work, yoga for exercise and sometimes just watching the amazing fluttering, flying landscape. ~ winter blessings