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No, it's not a bird, and it's not a plane. It damn near puts me to shame, though. It's been so cold in Western Washington lately that little drips of water form interesting sculptures. While posting this, I had to choose between "embedded" and "popup." Guess which one I chose? Go ahead, click on the little thumbnail to enlarge it. I dare you. ;)
DON'T TELL ME THIS ISN'T SIX INCHES! Holy cow, you can click on it to enlarge! What a nice surprise snowfall today, and it's still coming down. After a wonderful White Christmas (the first one in our area in more than 30 years) it was followed by this - a spectacular snowfall in a winter that has already been very good to us with plenty of 'white stuff' to share! Want some?
In our first real snowfall of the season, I wrote RINA in the snow on one VW. Then Marina, my daughter, wrote DAD in the snow on the other. We had a wonderful time together in the snow!
The Winter of 2006 - 2007 has been cold and unpredictable - snow lovers can't complain about this winter. After five straight days of snow and ice on the ground, we got an additional five inches this morning, giving me so many photo opportunities that I'm having a devil of a time deciding what to post on the photoblog. But this picture was a no-brainer - the ice and snow made some very interesting patterns in and around my garden area.
If you've been reading this blog faithfully (which I'm sure you have been) you'll know that we spent five days without power last week after the 2006 Blackout wind storm. That kind of knocked me right out of the Christmas spirit. I wasn't going to light to house or put up any other decorations. But when I woke up this morning to 2 1/4 inches of snow, that put it all right back and brought it home. Today, I spent time out in the freezing weather putting up the house lights. Then, I braved the cold again to bring it to you.
As a VERY PROUD American Infidel, I just want to wish you and yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, that's alright (as long as you speak English). Enjoy whatever it is you celebrate - just give me room to celebrate my holiday, too. We can all live together.
There have been many other pictures from this blog to make the local newspapers or television news and this is yet another one you may have seen on KING5 news this morning. When I woke up at 4 a.m. today, I was astounded to find snow accumulating in the yard! It had not been in the forecast and came as a complete pre-Christmas surprise! Here, 2 1/4 inches of snow rests on Connie, the first in the "Connie" series of Volkswagens we own. My Christmas spirit had been knocked down by the huge windstorm and subsequent 5-day power outtage we had, but this morning's surprise restored the magic of the season and brought out the kid in me. If you were around at the time, I would have thrown a snowball at you!
Here is the second of two pictures you saw on KING5 News this morning of the surprise snowfall in Port Orchard, Washington. This is a view out the front window of our house where the snow really piled up. :)
Also, as it is my Dad's birthday today, I'll use this opportunity to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JIM W. COLEMAN JR!
The weather forecasters had it right on - a powerful storm was to hit the entire Pacific Northwest from Seattle to Northern California, and we were to be prepared for major inconvenience. Now I've survived many storms and I have the standard emergency kit and supplies on hand, so I wasn't too worried. I will admit to a great concern with all the trees surrounding our house, though. That, and we'd just had a new roof put on. That was a bad omen. Later, as you'll see as you read through these five days, I had no idea how many trees would come down and just how bad it would get.
Continue reading "12/14/2006 - AFTER THE STORM: DAY 1 (OF 5)"
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On Friday morning, day two of the storm, I stumbled out of the travel-trailer to view devastation. Sure, it wasn't to the scale of Hurricane Katrina but everywhere I looked, I saw trees down, piles of branches and other debris, power lines hanging loosely from kiltered power poles and an eerie silence over the whole area. There was no way I would be eable to get to work with the power lines and trees blocking the road, so I set about working to clear our property and address structural damage as it was discovered. Over the next 24 hours, I was able to get plenty of pictures of the damage, and some of those are below. As I get time, I will update the blog with photos and stories from all five days of the Pacific Northwest and Seattle-area 2006 Blackout Storm.
Continue reading "12/15/2006 - AFTER THE STORM: DAY 2 (OF 5)"
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Staying warm wasn't a problem. After spending the first two nights in our travel trailer, we moved inside and kept the woodstove burning. Last summer, I had the foresight to buy seven cords of wood, so there was no shortage of that kind of fuel here.
By the end of day three, I had created 18 large piles of debris on the property and disposed of it all in a bonfire that burned continuously, day and night. We had fun with the kids and they were exceptionally well-behaved. I had feared that they would become bored and restless and drive us perfectly crazy, but they hung together and played, allowing me to do the necessary work around the property. I took frequent breaks to come in and spend time playing with them.
Continue reading "12/16/2006 - AFTER THE STORM: DAY 3 (OF 5)"
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We lost most of our food in both of our standard refrigerator/freezers. We were able to stuff some into the travel trailer's refrigerator (dairy/meats) and we filled up an ice chest. Unfortunately, most stores sold out of ice quickly but as the outdoor temperatures dipped into the 20's, we were able to make ice and keep what we had frozen. Our upright "deep freeze" did survive the storm, and that was a blessing - the "deep freeze" is stuffed full of roasts, steak and other meats. If there was a bright side to this, we were able to clean and disinfect our refrigerators.
Continue reading "12/17/2006 - AFTER THE STORM: DAY 4 (OF 5)"
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On day five, after a couple of false alarms, we finally did get our power. Our hearts and prayers went out to those brave, tired men and women who were out working in the cold to make it so. The power came on in the morning and we brought the house back online slowly, turning on individual appliances and breakers over the course of an hour. All was well. Except that I had a terrible cold and couldn't go to work. But that didn't mean I could rest, either. We still had a significant amount of meat to save - frozen meats that were still "okay" enough to cook and preserve by canning or with the FoodSaver device. So I got to work on that - 20 pounds of bacon here, 50 pounds of beef there, etc. By early afternoon, I was exhausted - my cold was getting the better of me. At about 2 p.m., I fell asleep for much of the rest of the day.
Continue reading "12/18/2006 - AFTER THE STORM: DAY 5 (OF 5)"
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This, one of my favorite photos, was taken at our Rocket Lane house and the view is from the back yard. A thick blanket of snow covered the grass and you can see the light painting stripes on the snow through the deck slats. A very pretty, relaxing scene.
Here is the "VW Snowman" Jim built at the Rocket Lane house on Dec. 8, 2003. If you look carefully, the snowman's "buttons" are VW logos collected from years of rebuilding Volkswagens.
No greater love doth a man have for his wife than to express his devotion and undying (insert noun here) by lovingly, joyfully and unselfishly creating a pure work of art for her over half the front yard.
This firepit has borne witness to all kinds of parties, shenanigans and other unmentionable activities and here, it sits still and frozen in place, its shape reminiscent of something ancient and slumbering - with secrets never to be told.
A striking view of our street, Lariat Drive, in Port Orchard, Washington following 3 inches of snowfall.
Click on the bunny above to enlarge! This is one of the numerous "fake animals" that we have placed around our property. But not to worry, we have plenty of real bunnies too! (They make damn good eatin'!)
I woke up at 3:30 this morning and it was raining. By 8 a.m., I was able to get this photo of an inch and a half of snow on the ground at our Lariat Lane home in south Port Orchard, Washington. Made me want to run outside and make a naked snow angel, but I quit doing that last year. :)
Pictured here, a good healthy dumping of snow on our Rocket Lane property in Port Orchard, Washington. The snowman is a bit worse for wear, but I'll put up a better picture of him later.
Snow covers the squirrel feeder on the back deck of Jim and Linda's Rocket Lane home.
After a particularly brutal Pacific Northwest snow storm, Jim W. Coleman got this shot of a wheelbarrow next to a rosemary bush near the garden.
On Feb. 11, 2001, Jim and Linda had to leave at 4:30 a.m. to get to SeaTac airport for a flight to LAX. When Jim got up, this is what he found - 11 inches of snow on the ground. "We've got to leave. NOW!" :)
Four to six inches of snow blanket the back yard of the Rocket Lane House.
In 2002, the first day of Spring was marked by snowfall in Port Orchard, Washington. Here is a shot as the snow began to fell - accumulating on the spring flower whiskey barrels.
This is a lovely view out front at the Rocket Lane house with snow blanketing everything in sight. This view, down the driveway shows snow accumulated to a depth of about five inches, if memory serves.
Snow falls heavily on December 8, 2003 in this view out toward the garage.
Here, the little rental cottage on Cole Loop, off Yukon Harbor Drive in Port Orchard, is all lit up on Christmas day, 1999. I have many fond memories from living in that little house. Those were desperate times...
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