Wrapping Up January: Storm, Birthday and Thaw

This has been a really cold month--our $315 natural gas heating bill that came the other day can attest to that! On Thursday, Jan.20, the heaviest snow we have had in years began to fall. Late at night it was still coming down furiously, and I took this photo out of the study windows for a view of the back yard.

The effects of the January 20-21 storm were still visible a week later, on Jan. 28, when I took a photo of the icicles that were still clinging to the awnings outside the upstairs bedroom windows, although the depth in the yard had receded, and all the snow was off the trees. The light coming through them made them sparkle and glow from within. Later that day we heard a lot of loud crashes as icicles let go from the upper roof, hit the awnings, knocked these loose and slid on down. It felt like the January thaw had begun.

But I get ahead of myself. On Friday morning the 21st, the snow had subsided to flurries, but the result was dramatic. Our heated birdbath wore a 9-inch deep bonnet of new snow--but when Norm checked, there was an air hole on the side not visible from the house--and there was still water underneath all of that. The birds, of course, were ecstatic.

The effect of the accumulating snow and sculpting wind was really evident on our next door neighbor's back steps. Later in the day our friend Raymond and another man arrived to shovel all of this away, but until noon on Friday, we were pretty much house-bound, and had been for almost two days.


Early in the morning on the 21st, the snow still clung to the neighborhood evergreens, making a pretty winter scene. This snow was fluffy, not wet, and as soon as a light wind came up, it started to blow off of all the trees.





This particular snowy Friday was also my 68th birthday. In order to avoid a fire, Norm put one candle on the short stack of pancakes he made from scratch for our breakfast that morning! I had a wonderful birthday... after we could get out, we went to our Qigong exercise group at noon, and later went to Hill Brewing Co. in Ferguson for a tasty birthday dinner. It was pretty cold, though, and windy. The best part was getting scores of Birthday wishes via Facebook and e-mail. One of the blessings of our electronic age!

A tour of the premises on Saturday the 22nd again showed the depth of our snowfall. Safe under all that snow insulation are our spring bulbs, chrysanthemums and hostas. As well as a whole colony of moles that have been active in the front yard despite the best efforts of one of St. Louis's top pest control companies!

The house wore its mantle of snow on the roof for several days, and the afore- mentioned icicles hung on until the very end, when the temperature finally climbed above freezing on the 28th. We were able to get to church on the 23rd for services and a soup dinner after church. We also made it to two more night meetings this last week, and two more Qigong sessions. By Friday when I went to the grocery store, the temperature readout in the car said 46 degrees. It was almost shorts weather...

Birds have been busy at both feeders as well as their heated bird bath. In fact, Norm had to make a run to Wild Birds today to get them some more food. Good thing he did...the forecast for the coming week doesn't look good. This is one of several dozen juncos that call our yard the dinner table. We also have cardinals, doves, sparrows, chickadees, and the occasional woodpecker or blue jay. On Friday in the warmth I heard a robin clucking, even.

On Friday, the snow is still visible out the front bedroom windows, but the icicles are gone. And look who is thinking about blooming... the amaryllis is slower to bloom this year than usual. Maybe it knows that spring is going to be late?






In the sunny sewing room window, the geraniums have stopped blooming, but they greenly wait for spring, while the Euphorbia grows taller and sends out white blossoms. Unfortunately, earlier this evening the Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch for us for next week, Monday through Wednesday. Freezing drizzle, freezing rain, sleet, freezing rain, sleet, and then heavy snow. I really hope that 1/2 inch of ice they predict doesn't materialize. We had such drastic power outages in the ice storm of December 2006 that I don't want to go through anything like that again, especially with only a 25-pound goldendoodle to keep both of us warm! Thus our January winds to a close. We are still working on the 500-piece puzzle. Quilt blocks were made, but the guild meeting was canceled the night of the big snow. Genealogy research continues. Water exercise has resumed. Meetings have been attended. Plans are being made. Soup recipes have been tried. We still need to put away the Christmas decorations. I've lapsed from my two-post-a-week resolution. Weight has been gained. Muscle tone has been lost. Oh for the days when we can take long walks outside again! I am ready for Spring but Winter is still very much with us.