Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A Winter Stormy Day

We woke up this morning to LOTS of snow -- everywhere! Remember the suet-loving crow in yesterday's video. As I was making breakfast this morning, I managed to capture a few more photos of him successfully obtaining suet from the tiny suet feeder. Looks pretty awkward, doesn't it? Crows just don't have that clinging ability of woodpeckers! But this guy did manage to score a few chunks of suet for his efforts.

Here's the view out my dining room window at 7:30 AM. Needless to say, the bluejays didn't get their peanuts this morning! I think this is actual snowfall as it's so close to the house I don't believe any drifting was possible.

Here's a look at another feeder and frozen birdbath on my deck railing. Some of this might have been due to drifting. The deck is on the southeast side of the house and last night's high winds blowing from the northwest covered most of our deck with a pretty huge snow drift.

Here's our snowfall totals from the local 6:00 PM weather report. Rochester Intn'l is the "official" reporting station and since we're only a couple miles from there, we use this as our result too. That seemed pretty accurate just based on what we were seeing in sheltered spots in the backyard too.

Despite the blizzard conditions, it was a pretty good day -- especially to get stuff done indoors. My wireless modem was delivered late yesterday afternoon, so I got that all hooked up today (thanks to the Qwest technical support team!) We also got this wonderful new toilet installed too! (Yes, Mom and Dad, it's one of the tall ones!)

The snowplow crews have been working overtime, so we should have a pretty easy time getting back to work tomorrow. It's going to be cold, but at least we won't have to shovel that and I've got plenty of mittens, hats and sweaters!



16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lots of snow here too. The Post-Bulletin said 14 ins. for Preston, that's close enough for us. The snow drifted so high on the east side of the house it covered the intake and exhaust pipes for the furnace, so the furnace stopped working, it was almost shoulder high on me, but I worked with a long shovel and got them uncovered. Tomorrow I will tackle the deck, that's only waist high. Then I can feed my kitty's again. Spent the AM inside and the PM outside. I dressed real warm to do my work, I was almost overdressed, but warm. It is so pretty with the new snow.
I'm glad your crows got something to eat, perseverance is the name of the game.

MOM

Gaelyn said...

Wow, almost 12". Sure is a beautiful white view you have and I love your stained glass pieces. That is one very persistent crow. Hope you have cleared trails tomorrow.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

If our area got that much snow it would shut down our part of the world for days. Ha... It is beautiful to look at.

Jayne said...

Now, THAT is some snow Ruthie! LOL... my tiny little inch is laughable... tee hee hee... Keep warm and dry!

troutbirder said...

Boy does that look familiar. I dreaded all night the thought of having to drive someone to a Mayo appointment. Then when I took a look in the morning it was time to reschedule. The open country along #63 can be real ugly in a high wind.

Taos Sunflower said...

Looks like here! Stay warm! It was -6F here this morning, also...

Mama Pea said...

A wireless modem, a new toilet and a foot of beautiful snow. Does it get any better than that? ;o)

How much snow did we get? Not. A. Flake. We have 0° this morning with 25-35° BELOW zero windchill. It is not nice out there. Had a trip to the big city scheduled for today (130 miles one way) but cancelled because of the brutal weather.

Could you send some of your snow our way? We really need it for insulation!

Heather said...

Yowza, that's a lot of snow you got there!! Glad you didn't have to go out to work in that. Here's my question, though: did the Qwest technical team also help you install your toilet? (hee hee!)
We got no snow here in southeast Ohio, just lots of horrendous winds (which have FINALLY subsided). Whew! Take care, and stay safe and warm!!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Mom,
I'm glad you got all your snow shoveling done. It was good that you could take your time working at it. I think this will be enough snow for us now for the rest of the winter, don't you?

Hi Gaelyn,
As you can tell, I love stained glass suncatchers, plus I think these help keep the birdies from hitting my big dining room window too.

Hi Lisa,
Wednesday was the worst day.....but our highway crews did an awesome job of clearing the roads, so the Thursday commute was pretty much normal.

Hi Jayne,
Hope you don't get the cold temps that are coming after this snow. We had -6 on the car thermometer on the way into work this morning (but looking forward to 20's this weekend!)

Hi Ray,
I have some awful memories of my Rochester commute from my early Mayo employment days. I don't blame you for not wanting to make the trip. Blizzard conditions are no fun to drive in!

Hi Martie,
We had -6 this morning too. A little cold this early in the season (even for us!) but this has been an unusual weather year anyway, so I'll just keep the fireplace stoked and knit until spring!

Hi Mama Pea,
I will send you as much snow as I can -- I think we've got more than enough for now!
P.S. Love your new profile pic & so does my mom! :-)

Hi Heather,
You know, my plumbing and carpentry skills are pretty good, but technical skills -- not so great! Thank goodness for Qwest! I have always had excellent customer service any time I call them.
Did you lose any trees in your woods to the winds? I hope you're staying warm now too as I'm sure the cold front has now arrived at your place.

Heather said...

Ruthie, as a matter of fact we did lose a tree. We have an Aspen that's been doing "the lean" for months, and it just couldn't take the gusts. It was on the upside of part of our driveway, but luckily it came down when we weren't home (wouldn't have damaged any cars, though), and it laid down right next to the driveway, so we are still able to get through. We'll have to dice it up this weekend, though. I'll try to talk Dave into letting me cut it up with the chainsaw. Hmm... this is starting to sound like a good idea for a blog post!

Mel said...

Hola Ruthie :)

It looks sooooo cold!!! Never lived in a snowy place, so it seems so strange.
Poor birdiers with blocked feeders :(

Over here we are about to beging summer time, so days are getting warmer and sunnier.

I'll send you some sunshine with this comment ;)

Besos,

Mel

Kelly said...

Oh wow.......that's a lot of snow. I wish we'd get at least a little of that down here!

Anonymous said...

WOW! That's a lot of snow! Go knit!

Congratulations on the tall toilet. Your knees will thank you. (There is a problem when very young grandsons visit, however. Having to aim UP for the toilet is not a good thing. :) )

Stephen said...

Though we'd not received as much as Southern MN, the snow did cause quite a disturbance here in the Twin Cities.
Good to hear that you're safe and warm.

RuthieJ said...

Hi Heather,
Good to hear that your fallen tree didn't cause any damage. Hope your chainsaw adventure went OK.

Hi Mel,
Thanks for the sunshine -- we definitely need it this time of year!
I'm always amazed at how many birds are in the backyard during our wintry weather and the snow makes it so much easier to see them too.

Hi Kelly,
I hope you get some snow -- at least for a white Christmas, right?

Hi Mary Lee,
It's definitely perfect knitting weather!
No grandkids here, so no worries with the new tall potty! ;-)

Hi Stephen,
Sounds like you got your share of snow today and we only got a little freezing drizzle and some flurries. I think this is going to be another nasty winter again, but good for knitting at least!

Ruth said...

lol! We just got a tall toilet installed. Our contractor didn't even know they existed. We are all tall and they do make a difference.
Pretty snow...glad I don't have to clear it though.