Surprise Snow Edition

The weatherman said he was scared that a small band of snow showers could hit a localized area.
We are that area.
It poured beautiful snow all day long.
If the temperature had been below freezing, I'm sure that the snow would be well over a foot deep.
However, it stayed warm all day, until nightfall, when the temperature went to freezing, and the glorious snow started to stick in earnest.
I was out in the field with the horses and dogs for less than an hour and got an accumulation of about an inch on my head.
We have about 6" most places. Some deeper, some less.

Snow Day 2012

Here's a treat from Laura and Katie, our early bird photographers, supplying you with a glimpse of this morning's magic.
I got up before 7 and saw that it was good, but I was not going to go out there before I had coffee. And by then, things were already changing because of the warm temperatures.
Thankfully, the girls had taken a camera with them, so I can blog vicariously through them.

Terrifying Sled Ride

Here's footage of today's sledding adventures on the far hill.
This is an example of why I don't look when they're out playing.
They woke up at 6:30 and went out soon afterward.

We got (are getting) a nice little blizzard at Providence Farm.
The lamp post is my Christmas present from Big Dan. I saw it on clearance at Lowe's and knew it would turn our front yard into Lantern Waste from the Narnia books.
I've seen little goaty hoof prints in the snow, but haven't caught Faun Tumnus in person yet.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Since the mountains and all points north got snow and we didn't, we went to see the snow. This is us at the open section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The part that had snow on it was closed.

And Again...

Here is the snow so far. It's whitened up just a speck since these were taken by Becky a little while ago. But I don't think there's any more for us this time.

Update: I have no idea why this published earlier without the pictures. We lost satellite as soon as the ice came down, so I wasn't able to retry at the time.

On a very interesting note, my friend at Holes In My Jeans was on blog talk radio today. If you'd like to hear her take on being a homesteader, listen at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/backyardpoultry
Go to the January 26 show.
I should warn you that Karen doesn't come on for at least a half hour.

Dream Come True

I woke up this morning to HAY. My friend and neighbor, Clifford, delivered a round bale and some squares while I was in Lynchburg for music lessons.
I couldn't see it when I got home, because it was already dark. It was a wonderful feeling to look out and see hay inside its feeder.
As you can see, our scary storm turned out to be just hype. It's not the weatherman's fault, snow was actually over us all day and night. It was just too dry to make it to the ground. That's ok with me. I wasn't looking forward to having no power.

Simply Photos

Another "Dusting"

We were expecting a dusting of snow overnight. As of bedtime, it's almost an inch. The ground is warm, so it'll probably shrink, if anything, overnight. But I can always hope...
Ironically, we grilled out tonight. I say "we," but in actuality, Becky grilled out tonight. You can still see the Sweet Baby Ray's sauce on the grill.

Belated Snow Pics

By the time I got around to posting these, the snow is mostly gone. I'm not sure if I like that aspect of southern Virginian snows or not. Considering the lack of snow plows and general ability to cope with snow, it's probably better that it melts immediately.

The Snow So Far

At 9 this morning our world looked like this.
The big snow they called for is probably not going to happen, but this is better than just bitter cold without snow.

A Preview of Coming Attractions

Hey, I found this on my camera just now. It's last week's snow. But it looks cold and snowy, and that's the feeling I want you to have when you imagine Providence Farm. It's been unspeakably cold lately, and now a blizzard is allegedly showing up in the morning to grace us with many inches of snow.

More Snow Photos by Katie

Snow Photos by Katie

The Snow Pony

Here are my brother's beautiful pets.
The pony and the Border Collie mix are both descended from hardy Scottish stock, so they think all this weather is just dandy.
Snowflake is contemplative in the field, wondering which animal she should chase next.