Thursday, March 14, 2019

Nature's majesty





Nature just does what nature does. I don't see any evidence that nature is conscious in any way we would recognize. I don't see any evidence that nature is aware of what she does or plans and executes any natural strategy. It doesn't seem plausible to me that nature plays tricks on us or appreciates the irony I detect in the way her majesty plays out.

I could certainly be wrong though!

After the last cold snap, when temperatures crashed down to minus 20 and it was very, very cold and wintry, we had some lovely warm days. It didn't quite feel like spring yet, but with the warming sun ever higher in the sky and days growing noticeably longer, it felt like we were on the verge of spring.

And indeed were were, indeed we are.

On Monday the weather forecasters began telling us of a pending winter storm, due in on Wednesday (yesterday as I write this). Tuesday was lovely and warm, with temperatures climbing to near 60 and much of last week's snow melting away.



By Tuesday morning the forecast was calling for a blizzard, and as the storm approached Tuesday night it began to rain. The temperature hovered near 40 degrees all night and by morning we'd had about 0.35 inches of rain.



At about 10 a.m. the temperature began to fall and a brisk northwest wind picked up.











By 11 a.m. the rain became snow and we were experiencing a legitimate blizzard.



The wind howled and the snow fell and there was nothing to do but hunker down. I was snug and warm inside, the power stayed on, and so did the internet. Not bad at all.

By 8 a.m. this morning most of the snow had ended but there was still a powerful northwest wind, 30-40 mph sustained and gusting to near 60 mph. Overnight the wind and snow combined to create significant drifts, which were a lot of fun to dig out of.






Snow plows had been out already, so the roads were passable, though technically closed.






All together we had 11.75 inches of snow containing 1.78 inches of liquid water.

I stopped by the hospital to arrange for Dad's albumin infusion tomorrow. As I arrived I had the opportunity to dig a lady out of the snow drift she'd parked in. I can't help but wonder of nature found the situation as amusing as I did.

The wind is still howling but that's supposed to taper off around sundown. The forecast predicts a warming trend over the next few days. That will be welcome.

And now it's time to go drain Dad's abdomen. I'll get back to this later.


13 comments:

  1. My goodness gracious, that was cold. Happy I am to read that things are generally well with you and yours. Stay as well and warm as is possible and know that my thoughts and best wishes are with you.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. Thanks Paul. It was a big storm, rivaling the Blizzard of '49. Much easier to take in March than in January though.

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  2. Thanks for posting, I was wondering how you all were getting along.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Brig. Big storm but with spring almost here not as bad as inconvenient

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  3. Replies
    1. No doubt some death loss around but cows and calves can take this kind of thing easily if they have a bit of shelter from the wind.

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  4. That sir, is a fair bit o' the white stuff!

    Great pics and videos, always good to see Nona the Wonder Dog in action.

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    1. Yep, it was a good one. Nona wonders why no run this morning! Thanks for stopping by Sarge.

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  5. Do you have a Bobcat? Loaders make the job so much easier!

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    1. Yes on the Bobcat, and I almost cranked it up yesterday. Probably would have if there had been much more snow to move. What I had to deal with was just perfect for a good workout though, so I took the Arm(and leg and back)Strong path. It's a lot of physical work but I try to keep using so as not to go back to losing.

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  6. Yep, looking forward to spring, though probably not as much as you are. Eighty degrees in LA yesterday, though we are heading north to cooler weather today. Looking forward to your next post. Mark

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    1. The last time I was in LA I really enjoyed it. Early June and the weather was beautiful. It's beautiful here too as long as you remember that ugly has a beauty all its own! Thanks for stopping by and commenting and enjoy the north.

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  7. How are all of you doing with the flooding I've been seeing on tv? Hope that all are well.

    Paul

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