Brrrr…

I enjoy winter weather when I’m not in it.   It’s beautiful,  but I’m glad I’m  not in Great  Britain just now.

Jerusalem snow…

Jerusalem is a city of terrible conflicts and contradictions,  but the  unusual snowfall  makes it look quite beautiful and peaceful.

Cold art…

Lacking any artistic talent myself,  I am quick to appreciate it in others.    I especially like that Simon Beck not only  creates the art,   but also photographs it for us to see.

UPDATE:  Some  more photos,  courtesy of Debby Witt at The Corner.

 

Christmas leftovers…

A soldier  finds a way to be home for his sister’s birthday.

You must check out “Jihad Bells”,  the  latest satire from Israeli group Latma.

And what some U.S. troops  were doing Christmas day.

Or how some  customers gave a waitress quite a tip.

$100 a barrel oil is what the Middle East wants to give us for Christmas.   The Obama Administration is giving us the death panels which were stripped out of ObamaCare.

A   most unusual photo of a cloud formation.

If  you have a winter cold,  reach for  the chocolate — no,  really.   Or you  could be a Secret Santa.   I’ve done this before,  generally for someone in a military uniform,  and it’s a fun thing to do.

Or remember the famous  one-word reply of the U.S. troops surrounded by the Germans in 1944.

Columbia,  SC had its  first white Christmas since 1887,  Atlanta,  GA  its  first since 1882.   Those cities can be forgiven with having problems during snow events,  but Moscow?

Finish with  a helping of rocker Ted Nugent.

It has snowed much of the day where I am,  but it melts the instant it touches the ground.  But it’s quite cold and the morning rush hour may have to deal with some ice.   Still,  it’s very pretty to watch from inside the house,  even though Big Girl doesn’t like having her head wet.   Now that the snow has ceased,  she’s lying outside on the patio,  alert to any potential marauders.

Weather weirdness…

It was only a decade ago that  someone was warning us British children wouldn’t know what snow looked like.   The Daily Mail has some neat  aerial shots of London under a snow load,  and the BBC has others,  here.   The Eurostar  system is all  but shut down due to weather.

California is  facing rain with wind in  some places,  and snow with gale-force winds in the mountains,   after having already had a  very strange  weather year.    Hawaii  isn’t faring any better.   Gee,  isn’t that where His Oneness and Our Lady of Perpetual Dissatisfaction re taking their holiday?

Australia’s summer is being  interrupted by snow.

Me,  I’m sitting in a chair,  Big Girl curled up to make a warm footrest,  wrapping Christmas presents,  which she has already inspected thoroughly.   I’m waiting up for the lunar eclipse in hopes that the current cloud cover will diminish.

The clouds stuck in,  so all I could see was the absence of light where the moon was.   Bummer!  I hope it was clear where you were.

UPDATE:  I forgot to tell you  it’s warm in Greenland!

Southern snow…

Yes,  we know it’s just a sprinkle of snow,  but down South,  especially in the Deep South,  snow generally translates into “light snow mist” or “a light dusting”.     And that’s generally what it is,   just little flakes that melt on contact with anything,  or perhaps a coating which looks like powdered sugar on my greenhouse roof,  easily managed without any snow removal plans or equipment.   And yes,  we country folk who can drive on red mud can handle snow and ice just fine, thank you.

But last Friday was real snow in an unusual number of places.   My property got about 6 inches,  with enough catching in the pine and cedar trees to make them Christmas card pretty.   I could never get my flock of cardinals to line up in a snowy tree as they did a number of years ago  — they were too busy bullying each other at the feeders,  along with wrens,  titmice,  sparrows  — even a couple of Baltimore Orioles were on the ground looking for spills.

I’m not a particular fan of squirrels because they’re forever trying to steal my fruits and veggies,  but I tossed out some corn for them, and a package of nuts I found at the back of the freezer.  A lot of scraps I normally compost went outside on tray feeders and aluminum pie pans set on fence posts,  along with some meat scraps for raccoons and other varmints,   bread intended for crumbs and croutons,  and some lard past its prime.   Yes,  I know lard is a demon substance according to the food nannies,  but certain recipes DEMAND it,  and it keeps nearly forever.

The first of our snow was wet and heavy,  so I had to scrape it off the greenhouse roof,   even with the overhead lights on.   And some hours later,  the light fluffy kind had built up,  so I had to make another scraping run.   Snow is very cold when it goes down your neck,  or in your boots because you’re so busy taking photos you don’t realize you’re about to step into a drift…

Thankfully,  Saturday was sunny and clear,   so I stopped taking water out for the wild things to drink,  but there is still an amazing amount of snow still on the cold ground,  even in the sun.   I’ve seen more snow than this before  in Switzerland  and Austria,  but this is out of the ordinary.

This was very beautiful to see,  not much difficulty inconvenience,   and no danger,  but I’ll be glad for it to go.

Snow in the South…

If you live in the Deep South,  even a few flakes of snow constitutes an occasion for excitement.    If you have enough to stick to the ground, you bundle up the children and let them run crazy.    That is what my dogs have always done.    The Welsh Corgis thought someone had kindly made a giant slip-n-slide for them.    My Border Collie just considered it cold and wet,  but as always,  was happy enough to go out in it with me.    I had to put him down at Christmas because of an embolism that kept returning,  and I miss him terribly after 12 years of  eager companionship.    He was a talker,  and very smart,  with a working vocabulary of about 70 words and phrases.

I don’t go to animal shelters, because my instinct would be to inquire how many I could fit into my truck.    But the local ones will call me if a Border Collie is turned in,  because not everyone can deal with their combination of intelligence and stubbornness and energy.

My point is that in pinched economic circumstances,  pets often lose their homes.    If you have room for one more,  please consider it.  Rescues are always grateful and they always remember.    I’ve had several,  and even the ones who had just average brains were so chock full of try and so attentive that they were superior pets.

If your household is full,  scrape a few pennies together for your local shelter.    Most of them always need old towels and newspapers,  and many also accept aluminum cans for recycling.    Call yours and see what they need, won’t you?

Meanwhile,  instead of seeing a black and white streak tearing around the yard, I ‘ll have to enjoy my bright red cardinals perching on the fence,  awaiting their turn at the feeders.