Comparisons

I wouldn't want you to think I was exaggerating. Check out these pictures taken a few hours apart. Same spot in the back yard.

In other news, I was out running errands today and Californians are just not used to dealing with snow. Icy parking lots were being navigated with tennis shoes and a prayer; I had a mammogram today and the lady doing the check-ins was astounded that I actually showed up; as I drove down the main drag of our little town this morning, both sides of the street were lined up for miles with 18 wheelers. They had been "caught" when the freeway closed due to the snow and ice and so they spent the night in their truck cabs sitting on our main street. The freeway was closed for a full 24 hours and they had to bring in snow plows from some of the nearby mountain areas in order to get the roads cleaned up enough for safe travel.

When I returned from the grocery store, I had to "shovel" snow with a dust pan in order to make a path for us to walk the groceries into the house from the driveway. My regular shovel has a rounded end and was worthless for the scraping motion I needed to clear snow.

Last night in a desperate attempt to get a TV signal, the Spouse and I were outside in wild, blowing snow, climbing a ladder and using a broom to remove piled up snow from our Satellite Dish. For the record it didn't work. Apparently the snow was so heavy and the clouds so thick that the dish just couldn't pick up the satellite signal. As of this morning everything is back in working order. A little sunshine does wonders!

The Spouse went outside to clear windshields this morning as we both had to go out. She ended up on her butt twice in the driveway as it was so icy. I made her come in and we used the car heaters and windshield wipers to clear the windows. It took a while to melt, let me tell you. I considered pouring warm water on the windshields, but since I am an inexperienced snow novice, I was afraid the great contrast in temperatures might crack the windshield. What do I know about getting snow off a car? Not much obviously.

The dogs have decided they like the snow and they are constantly asking to go out and play. The cold weather apparently agrees with them. This must be why they don't mind swimming even when the pool is icy cold. Their breed is actually descended from dogs that used to jump into the icy North Pacific and help fisherman haul in their full nets. No wonder they don't mind the cold!