Monday, March 2, 2009

In Like a Lion...

Edited to include Edie Marie's Giveaway! Go to bottom of post for more info and check her button on my sidebar, also.



We certainly got walloped with snow this time around! This is such an ususual storm for us here in the South. The trees were in bud and daffodils had already popped up. A storm of this size has just shut down most everything here. Closed are schools, businesses, malls, etc. They are not equipped for snow storms here like up north cause snow is a rare thing here. There are downed trees, some blocking highways, and also a loss of power for almost 24,000 people in the city here. My electric flickered off and on 3 different times, but my daughter lost hers for 3 hours. She phoned me at 11:15 last night to tell me that hers was back on. We had what is called 'thunder snow' which was explained on TV...it is like a thunderstorm where we receive heavy rain, and 'thunder snow' is thunder with a heavier snowfall. And it was coming down fast!!!

The interstates are one big mess, but some melting is taking place this afternoon. But those wet roads will be 'black ice' in the morning, as we are to dip down to 17 degrees tonight! Last night there was an accident on I-85 and traffic was at a complete standstill for 7.5 hours! TV later reported it was 9 hours, but I saw it myself when they showed the first car moving and said it was the first to move in 7.5 hours. They told on TV that cars were running out of gasoline while waiting, and that they had to rescue some people and take them to shelters. The Highway Patrol was pleading with people to stay home today and off the highways. There were over 200 accidents reported, also. It was just one big mess!

All day yesterday, they were predicting 5-10 inches overnight. SO......you might know who would wait until the last minute to make a run to the supermarket! It was pouring down rain when I left home. The highways were almost deserted, as the wet stuff had started to come down while I was still out running around. I made another run to the petstore, in addition to the supermarket, and then I had to run by my daughter's home as she had picked up the cats' insulin needles and some other things for me at Wal-M*rt. I got home safely, but the grassy areas were already covered with snow when I drove down my street. Before I got my car entirely unloaded, the street was covered with a layer of that beautiful white stuff.
Below, you will see that the highway was practically deserted on the way into the city...all the smart people had already been out and had their storm shopping all done.




Below is a really big intersection...very few motorists were out at this time.



Below, you will see that my little feral kitty came through the snow to my front door. I will put food out there for her tonight. I had moved the igloo doghouse closer to my back door yesterday for her, so I wouldn't have to shovel a path for her from it to the food dishes, but she never even slept in it last night! There were footprints in the back, also, so I know she had come around to the back to eat, plus the canned food dish was empty this morning. She's got me wondering where she could have found a better place to sleep than in that igloo with those nice warm, microwavable heat disks under the blankets for her...they stay warm for 16 hours.



This is my crepe myrtle tree outside my kitchen window...it was hanging low from the weight of the snow.


This is a scene looking up the street....




And this is the scene looking down the street...you can see other crepe myrtle trees drooping from the snow. We are just not accustomed to this much snow!



And this is my poor cleyera bush, all bent over from the heavy snow...



Below is my office window, so you can see that the office cats have had a great view of the snow...and they were enjoying batting the windows last night when the snow was falling. I usually keep the blinds pulled up a ways for them.




And this is what I found in the kitchen window when I got back inside this morning...this is Precious looking out the window. She was looking at me through the blinds with her snappy little eyes until I snapped the picture! Notice Toby's big fluffy tail in the foreground.

Right now, our street is bare, but wet. We are to be 74 degrees on Saturday! I am SO ready for Spring now!!!
Be sure to check out my sidebar for Edie's Giveaway at Edie Marie's Attic coming up on March 9th! She is giving away some beautiful items for her one-year anniversary in Blogland! Hop on over and check it out! You will just love her blog! She's a romanticist...I tell you, you will absolutely love her!!!

21 comments:

Patty said...

Wow, that's a lot of snow for you folks down there. But don't send it to us, PLEASE. I'm ready for a little spring air. Today it got up to about 23 high, but at least the winds have stopped blowing, still nippy though.

Susie said...

Hi Nancy,
I haven't been around for so long and I'm sorry for that. My blog is private now, but if you want an invite, just let me know. I'm also on facebook now too.
Love that last pic of Precious looking out the window. Vincent loves to do that too!
xo

Gigi Ann said...

I'm sure the children in the area loved the snow. My granddaughter send me a picture this morning of the snow they received over night in Maryland. They were yipeeing!! because they had been wanting snow. Not me I'm glad this storm missed us. I'm all snowed out for this year. We had a beautiful sunny day today. And tomorrow is to be the same and maybe a bit warmer. I am so ready for Spring! Thanks for sharing all the pictures and the commentary about your lovely weather.

Mrs. Mom said...

Oh WOW Miss Nancy!!! Sorry that stuff found YOU, but I sure am glad it missed us here ;)

It is pretty though, and at least it will be short lived down here. YAY!

Have a wonderful day there, and stay warm!!

Renie Burghardt said...

Whoa, look at all the snow! Looks beautiful, Nancy. Love all the pictures, and I could picture you rushing to the stores to stock up. lol. Sounds like me. We had 6 inches of snow Saturday, but it was gone by Sunday evening, thank goodness.

Hope the ferral kitty is okay. Enjoy the snow. It won't last long.

Happy March!

Hugs,

Renie

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Our high today was 33F but it was sunny, so there was some melting. Most of the roads are completely clear but there's still a lot of snow in shady areas and on roofs, etc. We ended up with at least 8 inches, possibly more. It's the biggest snow we've had in several years but it won't last long because we're supposed to be back into the 70's in a few days.

Dang, I hate Summer and I dread the heat! I'll take cold and snow over it any day, but the seasons march on whether I like it or not.

Glad y'all made it through with little or no power outages. :o)

Have a great week, Nancy.

Love and hugs,

Diane

Gigi Ann said...

Hi Nancy,

Sorry about closing "My Reading Corner" I posted each day in February and didn't think anyone would be reading it anymore. I opened it just for you. So you can read it anytime you chose. I will not be posting in it for a while unless something strikes my fancy!

Have a wonderful week.

Ann

Mary said...

Nancy,

Wow! We have no snow here and you have all that beautiful white stuff. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know that much snow isn't common in your part of the country, but it sure is pretty. LOL

The sun is shining here but the wind bites into you when you are outside for a while. By the weekend, warmer temperatures should prevail. Spring is definitely on its way.

Blessings,
Mary

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

Hi Nancy.
No offense, but I'm glad you guys got pelted with the snow this time instead of us! LOL I'm sick of the white stuff. I've had my fill for the year. If only they could come up with something to mix with the asphalt and concrete to prevent freezing!
Take care.
Lisa

Carole Burant said...

Well I'm just glad to see that the snow I sent you finally arrived! hehe We have so much of it, I just wanted to share:-) I can well imagine how your area practically shuts down when there's a snowstorm like that since you're not used to it. Over here, nothing shuts down unless there's an actual blizzard! lol I was just out to run some errands and the snowbanks are so high everywhere, makes it dangerous to come out of side streets and driveways because you can't see the cars coming. I'm so ready for Spring as well but we usually have snow until mid to end of April...sigh. I have kitty prints in the snow all the time here:-) xoxo

Winifred said...

Well that's a huge amount of snow. Your photos are beautiful. I love snow when it's in bright sunshine like that. It's good when you know it won't last long too.

Aren't cats funny? You'd think they'd love a centrally heated house like your little igloo. No, they want their independence. Must have been just a tad too close to civilisation for her.

Hootin Anni said...

Just the night before Corpus had one degree above the freezing mark early in the a.m......but it warmed up in the 70s by afternoon. Now, I'm not sure, do crepe myrtles die off when it gets that cold with so much snow? Or do they rebound?!! I have three here in our yard, and they have leaf buds on them right now. I'd sure hate to know if they do not take snow/freezing temps.

Love the photo of the kitty in the window!!! Naturally. hehehehe



Thanks for stopping by today.

Train Wreck said...

WOW good thing all your babies have "fur" coats! brrrr... Becareful, now you get to play in the ice I am sure. Love all the pictures.

Midlife Mom said...

Oh my goodness! You DO have a lot of snow for you guys!! Wow! I can see where it would shut everything down as you just aren't equiped for it. Our schools were closed yesterday as we had a real nor'easter here. Another foot of snow on the ground on top of what we already had. I shoveled the path to my bird feeders three times!

So glad Buster is doing so well. I just love the picture of the three of them as kittens. So sweet. He looks so cozy in his crate all fixed up for him. He's one lucky little guy!

I have been going through the snow to the barn to feed Barnie. The darned raccoons have discovered his dry food so I have to keep it in the truck that is parked in the barn for the winter and just put out enough for each day along with his canned food and warm water. I so hope I can tame him before next winter!!! I want him in here on the bed snoozing, do you think I will be able to tame him? He's terribly wild, can't get anywhere near him. I never should have started feeding him in the barn, I should have kept feeding him on the back deck so that he would have to come to the house to eat and then we would at least have that interaction each day. If worse comes to worse I can trap him and bring him inside and keep him in a room by himself until he settles down. Never had one that I couldn't tame but he is over the top wild.

Have fun in your snow! xoxox

Lib said...

Hi Nancy,
Wow, you have snow.All we got was flurries:o)
Trying to catch up on my visits.
Have a great wk.
Blessins',Lib

Monogram Queen said...

Thank you so much for sharing your snow pics! I loved them!
I must confess i'm looking forward to the 70+ temps this week-end though!

hippo chick said...

WOW!! I just got back from Joshua tree and read your post. You must have felt like you were back in Potter County. I know they arent' prepared for snow like that in your neighborhood.

The pictures are great, though. Glad you made it through safely.

I think you certainly deserve spring now.

I've been meaning to tell you about Liam. You asked how he was attached to us. He is the son of Paige's housemate, Michelle. He is quite the kid. He is very bright, but I think a little ADHD. Rather than medicate him, they keep him very active. Paige takes him out to play football or run or some such thing every morning before school. He's quite a challenge, but worth it.

~hippo hugs~

Anonymous said...

Hi Nancy,

Nice photography all around. I am glad you got the snow and not us this time.

Abraham Lincoln

Merle said...

Dear Nancy ~~ You will be glad to see the Spring warmer weather after
that snow. The photos are lovely and
the one of Precious at the window is so cute. Glad Buster is doing better.
Thank you for your comments and I am glad you enjoyed the jokes. The fires are all but out now, thankfully and the News is no longer full of them. My leg is slowly coming good. Still hurts to walk far.Take great care,my friend.
Love, Merle.

Sam said...

We got a lot of snow too. The NYC public schools were closed for the first time in 5 years! Luckily, it's melting quickly. I am ready for spring!!

I wonder where your feral kitty sleeps. You're so kind to feed her and offer her a warm place to sleep.

My cats always turn their heads when I'm trying to take their pictures! Still, it's a very sweet photo of your kitty in the window!

Have a wonderful weekend, Nancy!

Sammy

Lucy Stern said...

Wow, that is one big snow storm...I would have been "chicken" in going out in that stuff....lol.

Take care and don't slip on the ice. Give Buster a cuddle for me.