First snow

Finally. It's a bit late this year. Usually the first real snow hits just before Thanksgiving. This little snowfall barely qualifies - we maybe got 2 inches - but everything is dusted with a layer of frosty icing so we have to count it. It is 7AM and it is still snowing so who knows what the accumulation will be by the day's end? The falling snow is pretty pathetic though. It's wet and the "flakes" are more like small clumps of snow than the nice flaky stuff we will get later. Driving should be fun today. Somehow, between March and November, everyone forgets how to drive in the snow. People will be sliding through intersections, spinning their wheels at takeoff, slipping onto the shoulders of the road. It's a day to take it r-e-a-l-l-y slowly. Here are some shots of the front yard and of the house. The first one was taken at about 6AM while it was still dark out. I just took the second shot a few minutes ago. They are of the island we have in the front yard taken from the porch.



This is from the porch looking down the street.



The next two photos are of the house. Again, one at 6AM and one at 7-ish. The first one was taken while I was on the porch, the second is from the driveway. By December the pond gets completely iced over. We used to have koi and goldfish in it - that survived the winter beneath the ice - but our daughter accidentally killed them two years ago when she was watching the house while we were on vacation. She put the hose in the pond to top it off and forgot about it. It ran for two hours, filling the pond with chlorinated water. When she remembered and came back to turn off the hose, all four of the 8" long fish were floating upside down. Ooops. Now we just put fountain heads on it during the summer and keep it crystal clear with some decorative accents in it.






We have a squirrel feeder in the island. I know some people hate squirrels, considering them no better than other unpleasant rodents, but I think they are adorable, especially when they're playing with each other. This one squirrel has found the feeder and is a frequent visitor. I love watching him opening and closing the lid, emerging each time with his prize - a piece of corn, a sunflower seed, or the best prize of all, a peanut. Here's a shot of him from a couple of days ago (same scene as above photos before the snow).






Unfortunately, he left the lid open so now it's full of snow. I'll have to go clean it out and refill the feeder. Silly squirrels.