Snowpalooza - Day Two - Groundhog Day

Wowza. Shades of 1979, since I was only a little tyke in 1967...

River laying in it with Tippi watching for squirrels

Here are the dogs:  You'll see they're acting just like they ought to -- crazy.

We have drifts like you wouldn't believe. Or maybe you would if you were in Syracuse, NY!

I'm having a struggle with Hubby.... "Don't worry about me, I grew up in this weather!" Yes, dear you did. But you're in Illinois now, we've had a LOT of mild winters, and you're FIFTY!!! The news folks are saying that literally 5 minutes is all you need at a time. It's heart-attack snow.

The boys are shoveling and trying to get Kid #1's car out of the way of the snow plows, but we can't have him put it in the alley, because the alley isn't plowed, and his car is a crummy little Ford. Not knocking Fords, because we all have them, but this one is a bit of a beater.

Snowpalooza in the alley...

So this is the alley.  Note the snow shovel for perspective, the big drift BEHIND the shovel, and what's left, on the left, of my neighbor's "tarp/shed."

I was seriously thinking of getting one of those structures, but after seeing this, not so much!

We're all shut down. Three counties have officially shut the roads down, and the major highways are shut down unless you're driving something with a siren on it. The on/off ramps are treacherous, the county roads, mostly rural, are banked over, and about the time the plow comes through, Mother Nature rearranges herself. In sheer defiance of our puny human efforts.

My mother says that the cops are stopping people, and if you're not a municipal employee having to be somewhere or a health care professional, you're told sternly to get your butt back home.

The drifts are up past my knees. I'm 5' 4" - so figure that out. Our alley is just totally shut down, so even our futile efforts to clear our cars out was a joke. Our crazy neighbor actually tied his lawn swing to his back porch! Talk about a lazy jerk!

Tippi's Snow Face

Here are another few of the dogs, with their "snow faces" on. They're loving this!  This shot of Tippi is of her standing, chest-deep, in a drift at the back end of the kennel.

We'll have to see how they react when "dog park" time comes, because that's closed, too!

Hubby has already told our elderly neighbor that his butt would be kicked clear till spring if he even THINKS about shoveling himself out. The Kids are going to do that, just to make sure that if his kids need to get to him, they can.

Quinn's Snow Face

We do have a "snow angel" and we can't figure out who he is. There's someone who plows at least part of the alley. No, we're not planning on going anywhere, but it's nice to know that if something happens to our electricity, ComEd can get to the power lines. Ours are still up on poles, and while we didn't lose power, we did have a few "fritz" moments last night.

It will be beautiful when the sun comes out. And I'm hoping that maybe later we can get out on the snow shoes. At least in the yard, because I'm not driving anywhere!

Another of my favorite shots is one of our arborvitaes. I've gently knocked the snow off them. You can do that as long as you don't shake too hard - the branches are brittle, and they will break.  I didn't take a long-range picture, but I did do this up-close shot. The trees are remarkably sturdy; they bent but didn't break under the power of the gusts and the weight of the snow.



Branch of arborvitae



The shot is of the side branch, as it's loaded with snow. You can see the delicacy of the green parts and how pretty the snow looks, even though it's putting a pretty hefty strain on the branches.

We're definitely inside and just chillin' for the day. Hubby works, but he's a telecommuter, so they don't have a chance to have a real "day off."

I'm in my office, with Tippi settled in on her beach towel behind me. I'm working on the second sock, I've got a lovely cup of Wild Blueberry tea, courtesy of Kid #1's girlfriend, and in a few minutes, I'll be disrupting Miss Tippi, who's taken to following me around like my little grey shadow. Yesterday, she was up in my lap (which was quite a load!) watching the snow outside. Don't know if she'll jump up there today, but she'll stick with me through some guitar practice and some chores I have to do back here in the office making it look less like a dumping ground and maybe a little more like my peaceful space. Ha. I have a serious case of "The Stacks" in this place, and unless I magically grow more storage, "peaceful space" is but a dream for the time being.

It's a good day to brew up some tea, look outside and just settle in.