30-Minute Blizzard

Okay, maybe our snowfall Saturday morning (2/16/13) wasn't actually a blizzard, but it was certainly more than the forecast flurries.  Daybreak was partly cloudy.  Then, more clouds moved in followed by this fairly heavy snowfall which only lasted for about thirty minutes.

The Goldfinches took advantage of  our bird feeder under the porch while the snow fell.

The snow stopped as abruptly as it started.  A little while later, the sky was clearing again.

By noon, sunshine was chasing the fallen snow into the deep shadows.

30-Minute Blizzard

Wednesday's Snow

Snow in the pines.

Snow began falling Tuesday evening.  It continued off and on throughout the early morning on Wednesday, and even for a little while after daybreak.  A wet, sticky snow combined with a calm wind quickly "flocked" the trees.  Early morning fog added to the effect.  All totaled, around two inches of snow fell. 

Our neighbors stock pond is about a half mile up the road.

This was an "ideal" snowfall.   The snow fell from the sky.  We saw beautiful snow scenes.  Then, the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly.  Virtually all snow was gone by day's end.  Nice.

The same stock pond nine hours later.

Wednesday's Snow

First Snow in the Ozarks

Jo and I exhibited at an art fair down in Little Rock this past weekend. We returned home on Monday to find snow on the ground. The snow was fairly localized, extending only from the Marshall area over to Harrison. We left Little Rock mid-morning and made several stops on the way home. Driving conditions were not a problem by the time we encountered snow because the ground is still warm and the temperature had risen slightly above freezing.

Little snow melted on Monday or Tuesday. The sky remained overcast and daytime temps rose only a little above freezing. Nighttime temps dropped into the twenties. Sunshine appeared on Wednesday. By Friday afternoon when the photo above was taken, snow only remained lurking in northern shadows.

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First Snow in the Ozarks

Shadow Shot Sunday: Tree Shadow

Though our snow is long gone, I'm still working on a backlog of shadows in the snow.  In this image I was taking a shot of the tree shadow and the thousands of little bird prints in the snow when a bird (a Dark-eyed Junco, I think) decided to contribute its shadow too.

Please visit Hey Harriet to join in the Shadow Shot Sunday fun.

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Shadow Shot Sunday: Tree Shadow

Nature Notes: Snow Stories

There are many things not to like about the ground being covered with snow, but one of the good things is being able to glimpse the previous night's events written in the snow.  Rabbit, deer and even coyote tracks are fairly common, but this was the first time I've seen evidence of an owl pouncing on prey.

To see more nature photos or participate in Nature Notes, please visit Rambling Woods.

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Nature Notes: Snow Stories

Shadow Shot: Cow Trails

Cow trails through the snow.

This is our driveway, which is around .8 of a mile long (1.3 km).  We are snowbound until the snow melts.  Three days of sunshine and daytime temperatures above freezing have melted a lot of the snow, but there's still much left to melt before we can make a trip out.

Please visit Hey Harriet to join in the Shadow Shot Sunday fun.

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Shadow Shot: Cow Trails

My World In Black and White

An "X" in the snow marks the location of my world in recent days.  

How was the "X" formed?  Ice accumulated on the power lines above, forming an ice tube around the line.  When the sun came out, it melted the top off the tube and the remaining ice fell to the ground.  These two pieces just happened to land on the snow in the pattern of an "X'.  The rake-like tines on one side were caused by icicles hanging down from the tube's bottom side.

An additional couple of inches of heavy, wet snow fell overnight.  This photo was not converted to black and white.  My world IS black and white on Monday morning.

Please visit My World to participate and/or find links to other photos from around the world.

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My World In Black and White

Tree Year 2011: American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) #3

Our American Persimmon enjoyed a variety of weather over the past week.  Tuesday (2/1/11) began with light rain.  Our temperature dropped below freezing mid-morning, the rain became freezing rain and ice began accumulating on everything that was up off the ground.  The freezing rain lasted for several hours, but fortunately, there was not enough ice accumulation to cause any limbs breakage or other visible damage to our trees.  Sleet and the a light dusting of snow followed the freezing rain.

Wednesday was mostly clear and cold yielding lots of sparkling ice, but little melting.

Snow began mid-day on Friday (2/4/11) and kept falling throughout the afternoon and evening.  We were predicted to receive a couple of inches of snow, but about twice that amount actually fell.  It was a wet, sticky snow that clung to the trees, but caused no damage.  Saturday was sunny and our temperature climbed up to around 40°F/4°C.  There was much snow melting, but plenty of it is still around.

Celebrate a tree in 2011.  It's easy:  Observe, photograph, sketch, discuss and share with other tree huggers.  Please click the logo above for participation details.

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Tree Year 2011: American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) #3

Shadow Shot:: A Shadow in Black and White

The remnants of our last snow were reduced to hiding in the shadows when I took this photo.  Now we have 6+ inches of new snow on the ground.

To participate in Shadow Shot Sunday and/or get links to more shadow shots, please click the logo above.

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Shadow Shot:: A Shadow in Black and White

Tree Shadow in the Snow

Right after our last snow we got a few brief moments of sunshine before the sky clouded back up again.

To participate in Shadow Shot Sunday and/or get links to more shadow shots, please click the logo above.

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Tree Shadow in the Snow

Sweet Gum in the snow

The Sweet Gum tree, Liquidambar styraciflua, stands stately between our house and vegetable garden.  Today it is collecting snow,  the songbirds lite in it on their way to and from the feeders.  There is a Cardinal in the lower left hand corner.  (Guest post from Jo Smith.)

Celebrate a tree in 2011.  It's easy:  Observe, photograph, sketch, discuss and share with other tree huggers.  Please click the logo above for participation details.

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Sweet Gum in the snow

Melting: Snow Removal the Old Fashioned Way

Sunshine and temperatures in the upper forties lead to much snow melting on Friday.  Above is the worst section of our driveway.  It never receives any sunshine.  With a little weight in the rear of the bed of our little pickup truck, I'm pretty sure we could make a trip out, but since we have no where we need to go, we didn't try.

With the low angle of winter's sun, even a slight change in the road's tilt or direction can make a big difference in whether or not it receives sunshine and melts the snow.  Above is the beginning of the section shown in the top photo.

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Melting: Snow Removal the Old Fashioned Way

Afternoon Walk In The Snow

Jo and Rusty heading home on our afternoon walk.

We got a little bit of snow on Sunday, only a couple of inches.  Since then, we've enjoyed mostly sunny days, but our temperatures have remained mostly below freezing.  Not much of the snow has melted.

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Afternoon Walk In The Snow

A Little Snow in the Ozarks

Snow began around four o'clock on Sunday, 1/9/11.  Continued until around midnight.  Accumulation around two inches.  Was a dry, powdery snow.  All in all, with only our couple of inches of snow, we came out of this winter weather event in much better shape than most of the south that's to our east.

One of our wood racks with next winter's wood.

Stump I use for splitting wood.

Shed and walnut tree.

Van

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A Little Snow in the Ozarks

Daffodils on the First Full Day of Spring

Daffodils on the first full day of Spring in the "Sunny South, USA".

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Daffodils on the First Full Day of Spring

SkyWatch: Blue Sky Over A Bad Road

The unusually cold temperatures that put the Ozark Mountain region into a deep freeze for a couple of weeks have moderated. On Wednesday I made a trip into town and re-provisioned for the first time in a couple of weeks. All is now back to normal.

The photos below were taken while we were still debating when we'd be able to make a trip out. We live a couple of miles off the blacktop and the last three-quarters of a mile of dirt road is a dead end down to our house, though parts of our "driveway" are used by our neighbor when checking his cows, cutting firewood, etc. We did not receive much snow and ice during the deep freeze -- only about an inch of snow. The problem was that our temperatures stayed so cold, the little bit of snow received would not melt.

The snow on sections of road receiving full sunshine on clear days melted fairly quickly. (I know this looks more like a dry creek bed, but it is a road. Trust me on this.)

Other sections of road stayed mostly in the shadows. The snow compacted and glazed becoming almost as slick as ice. Not negotiable by our 2WD vehicles with street tire, especially when trying to drive uphill.

We have many winter seeps. When they empty in to the road, an ice flow forms. One must be careful getting around these even when walking, especially when they're hidden under a dusting of new snow.

On the other hand, the red clay sections of road can become even more difficult to climb after they thaw.

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SkyWatch: Blue Sky Over A Bad Road

Shadow Shot Sunday: Snow in the Shadow

Snow playing a losing game of Hide-N-Seek with the sun on our front porch.

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Shadow Shot Sunday: Snow in the Shadow

My World: At The Birdfeeders

A little bit of snow (around 1" or so) produced a lot of activity at our bird feeders. (Photos by Jo - 1/3/10)

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My World: At The Birdfeeders

Snow Hiding from the Sunshine

We received a light snowfall Saturday, not quite enough to cover the ground.  Only snow able to hide in the shadows remained after Sunday's abundant sunshine.

(One of the fallen, broken trees chainsawed short enough not to protrude into the road.) 

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Snow Hiding from the Sunshine

Snow Plow

Bucket in the snow. (3/7/08)


Our recent snow was the most either of our dogs has ever seen -- or tried to move around in. Rusty's solution the the mobility problem was to proceed in leaps and bounds. He resembled a large, short-eared rabbit as he made his way through the snow. Unfortunately, I just wasn't able to capture his antics with pixels.

Bucket tried the hopping technique, but her legs are shorter. Bounding through the snow required too much effort. She eventually settled upon just plowing her way through.

Rusty soon discovered that walking behind everyone else was the best solution, but Bucket wasn't about to abandon her position in the lead.

Snow Plow