Puzzle Me This

Lin and Joe gave us a puzzle for Christmas.  For them, as it is with us, a puzzle is sometimes winter entertainment.  As it happens, we received eight puzzles at Christmas and we did not put off doing this one because we weren't excited about it but rather because the people who gave us the other puzzles were often here and "helping" with the selection and construction.  We did theirs first.  Now, on February 28 we have

and Sunday, March 3 at 10 a.m. we have

Thanks Lin and Joe!  It was fun. 

And yes, it is still winter.  Snowed Sunday afternoon and it is colder than bears. 

Perseverance

Perseverance

February's last week
Bright sunshine
Gentle breeze
Warmth flows across the frozen earth
Out of Season.

Teasin'.

The heart leaps! Spring is near!
Be not deceived
These latitudes are not relieved
Of winter's ice and cold
This soon.

A respite brief
Yet some relief
From long chill
Set in the bones.

We'll take it.

Then hunker down
'Twill soon be past
Prepare for next cold
Snowy blast.

We'll survive.

Winter Weather

"The wind bloweth where it listeth," (KJV) or "The wind blows wherever it pleases," (NIV)  said Jesus.

As I write this, the wind is hootin' and hollerin'.  What it portends I know not, but it is late January  and in all likelihood it is up to no good.

To date we have been blessed with a mild winter.  I approve.  The inch or so of snow we have had so far is plenty enough, I can do without more.
But.
We take  what we get.

Blessings.  May your day be exactly as you would wish it  to be.




Brisk Breeze, here in Perfect, Indiana.
January 25, 2917, 3:15 p.m. 

The Blizzard of '78, this date 39 years ago.

December

Soon

Like a Hog on

Typical February morning, workday.  I am shaved and groomed, tie knotted and the topcoat snugged over my ensemble (I am laughing out loud, hope you are too).

Stepping off the back porch I carefully set one foot before the other, for a slick of solid ice covers the ground, a thin slick, to be sure, but slippery as, well, you know.  I arrive at the garage and throw up the overhead door.  That's right.  It had no "garage door opener" other than the driver of the vehicle.

Now I call your attention to the drawing above.  The street is quite narrow but does accommodate parking along the curb and a lane for moving traffic.  I must back my car down the drive, and "down" has some meaning here, crank the wheel as the rear of the vehicle enters the street, then

But "then" did not occur this morning as planned.  The neighbor across the street has a penchant for parking his wheels directly in front of his house, which as you see is also directly opposite the debouchment of my driveway.  Remember the ice.  I did, and I was ever, oh so careful. And yet although I turned the steering wheel, the wheels of the two-and-one-quarter ton behemoth did naught but slide on backward.  I hit the brake, and the car continued to ski.  Into the neighbor's vehicle.

My car sustained damage to the extent that there was a smudge of red paint on the bumper which was easily scoured off with rubbing compound.  Jon's car did not fare so well.

After arriving at work and getting the day started, I had to call my insurance agent to report this incident.  Now here is the fun part of the story.  The crunched vehicle belongs to my insurance agent's son.  You may smile now; after all, this all happened nearly forty years ago.

Word of the day: debouchment

Bedtime Chapel at St. Mattress

This was Saturday afternoon just before the total whiteout.  What you can't see in the pictures is the wind, about 70 kph.

Setting this to auto-post, going to bed, and pulling the covers over my head.  Think I may not look out in the morning.

Heavenly Father, keep us safe and warm.  Oh, Lord, hear our prayer.

Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Perseverance

End of February's first week
Bright sunshine
Gentle breeze
Warmth flows across the frozen earth
Out of Season.

Teasin'.

The heart leaps! Spring is near!
Be not deceived
These latitudes are not relieved
Of winter's ice and cold
This soon.

A respite brief
Yet some relief
From long chill
Set in the bones.

We'll take it.

Then hunker down
'Twill soon be past
Prepare for next cold
Snowy blast.

We'll survive.

Winter History in Perfect

37 years ago today this is what it looked like in this neighborhood.  This was the most intense snowstorm I have ever experienced, before or since.  The snow was driven by sixty mile winds. There was still snow on the ground in April.

I found an envelope in my desk tagged "Blizzard of 78." Inside were strips of 35mm black and white negatives. I no longer have the equipment to print negatives via wet chemical processes, and I don't know anyone in the area who does this anymore. So, onto the scanner, into a folder in the computer, and with a good deal of "messing around" with two or three programs, I managed to "develop" these images.

The first shot shows me in front of our house. The rest of the pictures were taken at my workplace shortly after the snowfall stopped. I had to walk over a mile, through drifts and all, to get to the building.

From the inside looking out.

A Winter's Day

We were out and about after the snowfall.  I did not take any pictures outdoors, because everything was covered with cold, white stuff (blecch).  But we stopped in this nice warm, cheery place!

BBBH leisurely assayed the newest offerings, walked out with an armload of books.

As I prepped an early evening cup of coffee, I saw a fabulous red glow through the west window.  My camera does not do justice to a sunset.  You might note the thermometer on the tree.  19^o was the high for the day.

What's Snew?

Oh, yes, there is still green in the grass, and in some of the trees, too. But trust me.  Fall is here.









Yard detritus to be hauled away.

The fountain is "winterized" and mums and gourds take the spotlight.







Cruelest joke of all:  the "s" word has returned to the weather prophet's vocabulary.

Go, Snow!

If there were a method whereby one could date the falling of this snow, it would tell us First Week of January.   I am fairly certain of this, because that snowfall drifted a serious mound of the stuff into this spot, following which we had another four feet or so of snow over the course of the winter and lots of serious cold.  So there was no real opportunity for this patch to melt.

Now we have had two days in the sixties and another one or two in the fifties during the past ten days.  Our snow decor has been reduced to this blob on the north side of the barn.

Tuesday afternoon it was perhaps six feet wide, fourteen feet long.  Today, Wednesday, it is predicted that we will have rain.  Likely, therefore, the snow will be gone this evening!  Well, it has been a long winter, and I for one hope that this is really the end of the snow.  For this season.

Again with the Snow

The poor RV wishes it were in Texas.  Okay, perhaps that is a bit fanciful, but I wish it were in Texas with me. 

 The little tree and the grasses in the neighbor's mound.

And a closer look at the grass.

The forecast for one to two inches of snow Saturday night/Sunday morning was accurate up to the point where the two inches was reached, then it went on to pour another four inches on us. Shoveling again.  Got the walks and drives done in four sessions this time.

We have a couple of granddaughters who "love" snow, and they are "so excited" every time a new batch falls.  They are in their twenties and thirties.  We love them anyway.

I've lost count of the total snowfall so far this winter.  One gets numb after while.  I have also lost count of the number of times I have posted about snow.  You may skip it when you're bored with it.

The world's coat is white, 

new wrap around her shoulders; 

hiding grey and slush.

We may be weary; 

nevertheless we are blessed; 

warm and green will come.

It's Done It Again

Wonderland

 Looking out the window.

Front yard.

 Birch tree.

 Apple tree.

  Catalpa trees.

Why? Why aren't we in Texas?