January 14, 2009

Well, our weather has done a real "180" -- we've gone from temps in the minus 20s Farenheit to the mid-to upper 40sF ! Along the upper hillside in Anchorage - and a little out our way, too - there have been gusts clocked to 120 mph! Thankfully, here at home, we haven't had anything nearly so severe -- I'd guess the gusts are probably in the 40 mph range. Still strong, but other than blowing the leaves off the trees and sometimes uprooting someone garbage, not damaging. However, a lot of our snow has been melting and the side streets and parking lots have become very treacherous. This is actually typical for our winters - we get the warm Chinook winds in Jan or Feb and go through a cycle of "thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze." It's tempting to think that we might get an early spring, but...Ha-ha-ha - Right! :D

"Frosted Flakes"

It might be hard to see in this photo, but the inside of our breezeway between the house and the garage was filled with milliions of icy flakes. They sparkled like diamond chips and were so pretty to look at.

"Nekked Trees"

If you look back to my photos from last week, you'll see they were just gorgeous - full and fluffy with thick frost and snow! Well...thanks to the tropical storm we are in, all of that beauty is gone and we now have bare trees. Which are still pretty in their way, but not so much.

"Getting Slick"

The snow on the roof is melting so quickly, it sounds like a running faucet outside! You can see how the water is turning the snowy driveway into treacherous ice. Whenever I need to go to the car, I have to hang on to keep from falling...

"Drip, Drip, Drop..."

This is where the run-off from the house is hitting the driveway; makes pretty "ice art", but soon it will spread into a big puddle.

"Leaf Debris"

You can see how the strong winds have blown away all the snow from the trees and knocked off the leaves - and some apples and berries, too!

"Exposed"

The melting snow is exposing the green grass left from last fall.

"Windchimes"

I love to listen to my moose chimes when the wind blows - this is made of glass and has such a pretty sound :) It hangs off the back porch roof.

~ klb