Sunday, January 13, 2013

Crazy Weather! The Joys of Slush and Ice

As mentioned yesterday, the last two days were warm enough to melt snow.

And a lot melted!  

What was once totally whitewashed, was now showing the ground beneath.  The majority of snow became slush, with only a few patches of white remaining on the ground.  It rained, creating large areas of slush.  Even my attempt at creating an igloo, which ended up becoming a small walled seating area instead...

The first couple of feet of an igloo that was never completed, surrounded by snow.

...took on the haggard appearance of ancient ruins, then almost entirely disappeared.

Only a small line of snow remains of what were once walls.  The ground around it is brown with only a hint of snowdust.

I have to admit, I was very happy that it lasted as long as it did!  Next year I'll have to use what I learned to try to make another.  I expect that to be a lot of fun!!!

The melting snow really gave me an added boost, yesterday.  My need to see something other than snow was becoming pretty overwhelming.  I was lucky to receive a tiny moss terrarium from one of my best friends ever for Christmas, but I really needed more.  Desert girls aren't meant to spend weeks in snow covered areas, I believe!

Even without that need, though, it was pretty exciting for me. 

I mean, the snow turning into slush part was pretty cool!  I considered trying to create some sort of slush-man from the mess, or maybe even an entire family of tiny slush-men, but elected not to do so in the end... there was too much rain, and I'd walk back into the house soaked to the bone.  I probably should've made those slush-men while I had the chance, though, because after the rain subsided, a cold front blew in.

A very, very cold front.

And it brought a light dusting of snow.  Not a lot, but just enough to cover the ice that the cold front turned all of that glorious slush into.  I took the dogs out after breakfast, and we all did a great job of slipping and sliding over the snow dusted ice trails that had been created in areas that receive the largest amount of foot traffic.

A slight dusting of snow covers ice that would be almost invisible beneath it, if not for the lines of sliding footprints that make it visible.
Those are some of our slidey-prints.
Perhaps I should invest in ice skates for days like these!
Indeed, the days in the upper thirties and lower forties have ended for now, and as I write this my desktop gadget is telling my that the temperature is fourteen.

Wow!

The sky itself is still a bit confused about this change.  Each time I look out the window while writing this, the weather is different.  Sometimes it's snowing, sometimes it's sunny, and sometimes there's just a nice cloud cover.

Times like this remind me of my old home in the desert southwest.

Not the snow part, of course, but the rapid change in weather.  I could easily sit and relax on the porch while watching these changes take place with complete and total fascination!

Well, if it wasn't so cold, that is!


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