It began snowing Thursday (12/17/09) and before long heavy wet snow coated everything. When I stepped outside I could hear branches cracking everywhere and and by Friday afternoon the power was out.
Beautiful sights on every side . . .
The phrase 'winter wonderland' was uttered more than once . . .
Visibility was rather limited . . .
A columnar evergreen bows under the snow's weight . . .
The bird feeder still had a customer . . .
Railings piled high with snow . . .
Snow sliding off the roof eventually brought down the gutters . . .
The tops of the river birches I planted thirty some years ago were snapped . . .
But to the east, we could see signs of clearing . . .
The landscape is almost unrecognizable . . .
By the morning of the Solstice, the sky was more promising . . .
That lovely glow . . .
As I peered out from the upstairs window, I thought of early man, huddled in a cave through a seemingly endless winter, and how he must have rejoiced to see a glow through the snow-covered trees . . .
As the horizon brightened . . .
And the sky changed from gray to blue . . .
Even though we still had no power, things looked brighter . . .
There was the solstice sun, shining through the trees . . .
And painting the snowy branches with a rosy hue . . .
And the skies were truly blue!
Eddie basked in the sun . . .
And I assembled the kerosene lamps to refill them, trim the wicks, and clean the sooty globes.
Outside the window, the birds gathered to wait their turns at the bird feeder . . .
Like a heartbeat in the snow . . .
A cardinal is irresistible to a camera . . .
Male and female alike . . .
Look at that jaunty crest!
It's still chilly in the house and Eddie has joined William on the sofa in front of the fire . . .
Making William somewhat uneasy.
More cardinals . . .
And the cheery sight of Justin, attacking a fallen limb so he can reach our woodpile.
But oh! the devastation!
Another evergreen laid low . . .
But it'll be back, just like the sun . . .
And, by Wednesday afternoon, so will the power!
