Another Snow Day

Remember that blizzard I posted about? I know, it was so long ago, almost two full weeks!

All that snow had melted away, two feet of snow gone in less than two weeks.

So imagine my surprise when I awoke Friday morning to see this out my window.

Everything covered in snow. Wondrous.

The forecast had been for rain, and when we went to bed Thursday night it had been drizzling.

But now it was fantabulous out. I wanted to stay home, wander in our woods, and photograph all morning.

Alas, I had to go to work.

Unlike these Robins ...

... who took over the crabapple tree as I watched, enchanted with the beauty of the scene.

All these birds (I count 32 robins in this tree alone) got to play in the yard while I had to go to work. What's the point of having a home in the country if you can't enjoy it on magical days like this?

Sun Dog with No Sun

As I got out of my car Monday morning at my office parking lot I looked up.

And saw a sundog, seemingly in front of the cloud blocking the sun. How does the light get from the sun to the ice crystals that bend the light to create the sun dogs?

Curious.

Of course the only camera I had with me was my iPhone.

This is Why ...

... I can't have nice things.

Patty's brother Doug and his wife gave us a drone for Christmas (we had dinner with them yesterday).

A Syma X5C Explorers to be specific.

The very helpful (helpfulness not included) manual, which did have all English words, informed me that:

"This R/C flying model is a high dangerous commodity." 

"Keep it far away from the barrier or crowd."

"Keep it far away from the moisten environment."

"Keep it far away from the high-speed rotating part and heat source."

"Use this product correctly and avoid operating by your own."

Never-the-less it is a very nice piece of kit. And the info I found on the web was all positive, repeatedly stating it was a perfect choice for the first time pilot. A mid level model at an entry level price. So I charged up the battery and headed out to give it a go.

And it started well, we have liftoff (click "liftoff" to see)!

But it was all downhill form there.

Nowhere in the manual did it mention anything about snow.

Although it did help cushion the crash.

Nor were there any warnings about trees.

See it up there (look for the green lights in the center tree)?

And there it remains, it's lights blinking forlornly, battery slowly draining, its motors not strong enough to disengage it from the snare of branches. And me down here, powerless to do anything but wait for the next wind storm.

The manual states that you get seven minutes of flying time on a fully charged battery. I think I got three minutes before my Charlie Brown moment occurred.

But I can't wait until I get it back.

Cat in a Sink

Our cat Max likes the bathroom sink.

Makes no sense to us either.

Snow Day

As seen on TV, we had a blizzard!

Approximately two feet of snow over the past weekend. The storm began Friday evening and lasted into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Snow Garden

But by the time we woke it was sunny out.

Now we have a rather long driveway ...

Piney Plow

... but by using the "Piney Plow" method, I drove back and forth in my 4-wheel drive SUV to keep it clear ...

Homestead

.. and it worked!

For my car anyway ...

Patty in Action!

... Patty's Prius on the other hand ...

Snowbound

... needed a bit more help. Fortunately the Philadelphia School District canceled school Monday and Tuesday. And the sun helped reduce the cubic meters of snow needed to be removed before car could meet road.

But there was plenty of other shoveling to do.

As we needed paths on the deck to get to the garage and to the bird feeders.

I didn't spend all my time shoveling however, I looked around. And took pictures.

Here we have some bird tracks under a cedar tree.

Zooming out we see that this is the only area where we see tracks.

Why?  It is not clear why the birds concentrated here and not all along the edge. There are sweet pepper bush plants all along the edge to the parking area. So what was special about the cedar?

Damm Deer

Deer also visited, curiously coming through the wood and not across the open front yard.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It's now been several days since the storm and while there is still snow on the ground life is back to normal. In fact, by us, the roads were clear Sunday afternoon.

I know the roads were clear because I had to go to Philadelphia to do this:

Photo courtesy Patty Rehn

And the sad part is that I put this snow here, having thrown it from the deck three stories up. Yep, I shoveled this snow twice. Lucky me.

Snow Day

It's all fun and games until ...

(Should have stayed under the car ...)

Snow Day

Tracks under my car.

Silly birds, (most likely Juncos) there is no food there!