Blizzard photos

Here's the link to my Picasa album of blizzard photos. It's so cold outside that it hurts to remove my gloves in order to operate a camera. And the camera itself isn't working well in these temperatures. The motors are very slow, so I keep it inside my parka. Still, with only a minute or two in the wind, my fingers hurt, then went numb. That's a very bad sign of impending frostbite. I didn't spend much time outside, though I still have to shovel the driveway today.

The blizzard of '11

The view from our front window.

First, my apologies for the photos. It's so stinking cold, I don't want to go outside. All of these were taken through windows. Once the snow stops, I might go wander the neighborhood - on foot. Nothing is moving on the street. Any additional photos will go on my web album and I'll provide a link to it here.

The forecasters have been talking about this storm for a few days. I've learned to sort of pay attention, but in all honesty, they often have a hard time getting it right more than a day or two ahead of time.

They were spot on with this one.

I awoke at the usual time, a little after 4AM. I'd talked with my crew chief and supervisor yesterday about taking a vacation day if the weather was atrocious. Outside my bedroom window there's a 4 foot deep snowdrift lying between the houses. I made the call and went back to bed.

I was up again around dawn. While I dressed, it seemed cooler than normal in the house. Sure enough, the hall thermostat said it was 55F. The furnace wasn't on and the thermostat was dead. It's a Honeywell programmable unit. I said a silent prayer hoping it didn't require AAA batteries. Luckily, it takes double As and I have lots of those. With fresh ones installed, the heater came on in a few minutes.

The dog wanted to go out. I tried to open the front door but a snowdrift across the porch prevented it opening more than a few inches. So I was off to the garage for the snow shovel. Duchess pranced. She really had to go.

The view to the south. This is the best visibility.

I carefully forced the door open about 18 inches. Duchess and I squeezed out. I shoveled while she quickly found a spot to anoint. The temperature is in the low teens with a strong north wind making the windchill well below zero. Despite the gloves, my fingers lost feeling within a couple of minutes.

Birds mobbing the feeders outside the patio door.

Bird fans lined up at the patio door.

I'm watching the local television storm coverage. The Red Cross is taking in stranded motorists. Owasso's emergency services are having problems with the roads. Even the plows are getting stuck because they can't see the sides of the road and keep driving into ditches. Let's hope there aren't any fire or ambulance calls today. We've been lucky in that regard so far.

The heater is working and I have a fresh pot of coffee brewing. It's a good morning for pancakes or waffles. I haven't made waffles for quite a while, so that may be my entertainment today. Today is also Lyndsay's birthday. She was born during an ice storm, so perhaps a blizzard is appropriate.