It's Been Cold!

I have been saying that it's been really cold lately, and I think this picture of me taken last week does a good job proving it! LOL

Winter Photos

We've been having quite a winter this year with a lot of snow, fog, heavy heavy frosts, and now today an ice storm is moving through. I am actually doing much better this winter than in past years. I routinely always get really blue by this time. The Holidays are over, the cold has been relentless, cabin fever has set in and winter just seems to drag on. Well this year it's not been bothering me. I have greatly increased the amount of Vitamin D I'm taking, and I'm not sure if it's that, or if it's due to the fact that right now I can't do much, so I don't feel "stuck". Either way, it's nice to not feel that "blue-ness" coming over me, ya know?

Ok, some photos.....

We've had so much snow that all the ditches along side the roads are full. Therefore, it's very hard (when the roads are snow covered as well) to see where the road ends and the ditch starts. Lots of people have gone into the ditch because of it. This picture was taken on our gravel road, and as you can see, it's a tough drive, especially with all the fog we've had the past way too many days. It makes for interesting driving let me tell you.
















This is the best view of the sun I have seen in several days. And blue skies...I don't even remember what they look like. Yuck!
















I do have to admit that the heavy frost we've been getting due to the relentless fog has created some incredible beauty. These pictures (taken with my cell phone) don't even do it justice.

This is one of our trees
















This is our mailbox. I wonder if I could get away with not paying our bills because I didn't want to disturb the beauty of the mailbox by taking the statements out. Think that'd work? LOL
















Here's our basketball hoop. That is all frost on the net, not snow. Craziness!
















At least we've got plenty to keep us occupied. That's Coach Jay sitting courtside with part of his team during a recent game. He's the head coach for the Freshman boys team, and one of the assitants for the varsity team.
















Austin has been playing (that's him in the red in front #31) in games on the same nights Jay coaches. His games are right after Jay's, which is nice. All these games help break up the Winter monotony.

Storm Photos

Wednesday 1/6 - noon-ish

The snow started to fall. "Isn't it pretty?" is what everyone kept saying. If it were the first snowfall of the season, then yes, I could say that it's pretty. However, this is the 3rd major snowstorm we've had so far and we're only a couple of weeks into winter.






The snow started to fall harder.












Our poor farm cats were about as amused as I was.










Thursday - 1/7

The winds really picked up and were blizzard strength all day long. Huge drifts started to form.









By the time we went to bed, there was a WALL of snow out our back door. Our back yard that is fenced in for the dogs has a 4' fence that runs around the entire 100'x100' yard. This wall was 4-6 feet tall in places and enveloped the entire yard!







Friday - 1/8

This morning Jay took Austin to get his stitches out (he had gum reconstructive surgery). He was glad he had the blade on the front of his truck in case he ran into drifts.

Looking out front, the snow doesn't look too bad...





...but looks can be deceiving! Check out these drifts! This one covers my side of the garage and out our back door. We would have been totally stuck, but Jay had parked his truck in the other side of the garage with it facing out, so this morning he just stepped on the gas and plowed his way through the drifts. :)

I did find it interesting how the drifts looked like whipped meringue peaks.



The steps you can see just a part of, lead up to our front door. However, you can also see the drift in front of the door inhibits us from using it. Plus, it's also frozen shut. :-/

To give you an idea of how big these drifts are....we have a basement under our house, and the basement is only partially in the ground. The top 4' are above ground, which you can't see at all in these pictures. The drifts are easily 8' tall in spots.


The building you see that is almost covered up is where I had the pet boarding kennel. There are 6-8' drifts around the entire building. I do miss the kennel, but during weather like this, I don't miss having to try to walk up to 25 dogs.








This is the 6' fence that surrounds the kennel building and divides that yard with the yard for our dogs. You can see that the drifts on the other side of the fence are taller than the fence.

Remember the 4-6' wall I showed from last night? The drift you see on this side of the fence is part of that wall. As you can see, it grew overnight and most of it is well over 4', and is 8' high in several spots.




I know, it's pretty, right?

Well, all I can think is:

HURRY UP SPRING!

Snow Days

Well, we survived the great blizzard of '09. Over a foot of snow, 50+ mph wind gusts, and dangerous wind chills. Since we had all that within 48 hours, I'm thinking we should now get 48 days of 60 degree weather. Yes, I'd like it warmer than that, but I don't want to be too greedy.

The biggest problem we are having with this storm is the dogs. They go out and after a short time they get ice in the crevices of their paw pads and then they can't walk. And, of course, it always happens as they do a little "Bichon Blitz" action and they are 50 out in the yard and I have to go out and get them.

Today the snow plows finally came down our gravel road, so we are free! This evening, Austin & I convinced Jay that we needed to get out of this house. Off we went to Target.

I did need a few things like paper towels, a flash drive, etc, but I would have been content to go anywhere at that point.

The roads weren't too bad, but we did see the remnants of the storm. We saw many cars in the ditches and an overturned semi was on the side of the road. We heard on the news a fatal accident had involved a semi, so we're guessing that was the one. So sad.

So that's been our excitement the past few days. I know...we live the rockstar lifestyle! ha!

How did you do doing the storm? Did you beat our 12" of snow?

Autumnal Equinox

In case you didn't know...

Summer is now officially over.

Yep, It's Almost Fall

Remember my little dwarf apple tree? I really think it's been stunted, because it hasn't grown all year. I'm only 5'0" and I'm still taller than this little tree. But let me tell you, that has not stopped this little bugger from producing apples. Lots of apples. More apples than a stunted tree should be able to produce!

Just have a looksie here at this basket full of apples that came from that very tree. How cute are they? Add in the fact that this little tree is only 2 years old, and we were told they don't start producing fruit until at least 4 years, we are just plain amazed!

And do you also remember me asking what THIS plant was? Well, we have it figured out...it's a pumpkin plant, and we have figured out why we have a pumpkin plant growing right outside our front door...last Fall I placed pumpkins on our front steps like I always do.

Around mid-November, I noticed the last one was getting a little "icky", so I kicked it off the steps and into the grass. I asked Jay to throw it out when he came home from work, but he forgot, and we had a freak early ice storm overnight. That pumpkin was frozen solid and totally stuck to the ground.

That pumpkin stayed there all winter and was totally buried by all the snow we had. We completely forgot about the pumpkin until we noticed the mysterious plant was blooming and growing "something". Well, here's a picture of what those "somethings" look like. How adorable are they? We actually have gotten 6 small pumpkins so far, but I gave one to each of the girls to put in their dorm/apartment. There are 2 more about ready, and there are several still growing. There are also still more blossoms, but I can't see any way those pumpkins will be ready before Winter.

Other than the fact that the weather has been more Summer-like than it was most of August, these apples and pumpkins are a sure sign that Fall is just around the corner. I'm hoping this isn't a sign that Fall will be equally cool...although Jay probably wouldn't mind not having to freeze to death at night since I have the fan on high while yelling 'Oh my goodness it's an oven in here! I'm hot! I'm hot!'

Sing Along With Me

This picture was taken in my Vue yesterday. That would be yesterday as in 2:30 pm on Monday....the 31st of AUGUST. Yes, AUGUST. Not September. Not October. Not even April or May.

AUGUST.

That's just plain craziness. It's supposed to be summertime here in the midwest. We endure harsh cold weather all winter (and part of Fall & Spring as well) just so we can enjoy the delights of hot Summer weather. So where is it? Where is our hot Summer weather?

I created a little song, sung to the Veggie tales tune of "Where is my hairbrush?"

"Where is my Summer? Where is my Summer?
Oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where, oh, where oh, where ... is my Summer?"


Just in case you aren't familiar with the tune, watch this for a reminder (oh and now that the song will be stuck in your head all day, may I just say...You're welcome.) :

It's Game Show Hot!

Alex, I'll take "Places that are currently ridiculously hot" for 100 please.

The question: What is Iowa?

Correct!

Alex, I'll take "Places that are currently ridiculously humid" for 200 please.

The question: What is Iowa?

Correct!

Ok, I know, I know, I've been whining about the cold forrrrrrrr-evah! I know! But holy macaroni and cheese Batman, this is beyond ridiculous! We went from April to August in 24 hours! Not even exaggerating here!

One day it was 73, the next it was 93....with heat index warnings.

We don't get heat warnings in Iowa in June. We get those in August. It was bad enough that our power went out. Again, that's an August thing - not June.

Monday, Austin had a golf tournament, and thankfully his tee time was 8:10am. It was already 76 degrees at 7:30am with over 50% humidity, so I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough the sun came beating down and the humidity gauge went up, up, up.

I was not a good golf mama. I did not follow my son around the course. I blew him a kiss, got the "Oh my gosh how could you embarrass me like that" look, wished him good luck and went and sat under a shade tree. Although, if you look at the flag stick in the picture, you'll see that the shade didn't offer much relief. There was not even a slight breeze.

While just sitting there I had sweat running down my back. When exercising, sweat is good. When watching your son sink a putt, sweat is bad.

Yesterday was just as bad until a storm came through, and all I could say is God bless air conditioning!

What A Difference A Day Makes

Iowa's Local Weather Report For This Past Weekend:

Friday ~~ mid-50's. Not a cloud in the sky. Slight breeze. Overall a beautiful Spring day.

Saturday ~~ around 50 degrees. Cloudy. Very windy. Still though, overall not a bad day.

Sunday ~~ 30 degrees. Winter storm. White-out conditions. People stranded on the interstate for hours due to being stuck and rescue vehicles unable to get to them until conditions improved. Approximately 10" of wet, heavy snow (how it was able to blow bad enough to put visibility near zero is still a mystery). Overall a yucky, yucky day.

Here's the proof of the nasty weather we had:

This IS April, right? Just checkin'.

The Main Difference

I can sum up the main difference between the South and the upper Midwest in this one simple way:

In the South, if it is 51 degrees on April 3rd, they will say "Brrr! Close the windows, and toss me a sweater. It's only 51 degrees!"

And, you will likely see things like this:




But in the midwest, if it's 51 degrees on April 3rd the will say "Woohoo! Spring is here! Open the windows, and put down the top on the convertible!"

And you will see things like this:

The boaters are out:



As are the fishermen:



And even some die-hard jet skiiers (keep in mind, approx a month ago, that lake was still frozen):



And just so you know that I am serious, this is a shot of my dashboard. I took that picture as I sat by the lake near my home today watching these boats that I also took pictures of...and yahsureyoubetcha, my windows were down, and it felt grrrrrrreat!



Yep. We love our Spring up here .... & we're a hardy bunch.

Gabby's Adventures

Gabby has been a stinker lately. I don't know what her problem is, but if there is something she can get into...she will. On these nice days, we've left the back door open so the dogs can go in and out through the doggie door. We have free-standing baby gates to block the dogs from the rest of the sunroom which is the room they go through to go outside. All of the dogs could jump over the gate, but they all respect the boundaries - all except Gabby. She constantly jumps over and runs around trying to find something she can get into. When she hears us coming, she jumps right back, which proves she knows she shouldn't be doing that.

One day last week it was cold and we had rain/freezing rain on and off most of the day. It was one of those days when you just feel chilled all day long, and nothing I did warmed me up. So, after lunch I decided to hop in our hot tub. Its on the other side of the baby gates and it's so sweet the way the dogs sit there watching us when we are in there. When I was done I put on my robe and headed to the bedroom to get changed. After that I'd go back and put the lid on the tub, close the windows, etc...which is what we always do.

After I got dressed I headed back out, and there was Gabby on this side of the fence and she was soaked. She was literally dripping wet. I quickly shut the door to the outside since I figured it must be raining really hard....but it was then that I noticed it wasn't raining at all. I looked around and saw that the steps beside the hot tub were very wet and had wet little puddles on them. That's when I realized that Gabby had fallen in the tub!

OMG I laughed soooooo hard! LOL

She must have jumped the fence, ran around, got up on the steps and decided to jump up on the edge of the tub to see what was up there. Problem is, the edge is narrow. The edge is rounded, and most importantly the edge is slippery when wet. Whoops! In she went.

Can you imagine what she had to be thinking? LOL

Thankfully she was totally fine, other than being soaked to the bone. She was wagging her tail and prancing around so it didn't even seem to faze her. I was hoping that maybe this will teach her that boundaries are there for a reason.

Nah...not Gabby. LOL

What I Don't Like About Melting Snow...

What A Great Day

Yesterday was one of the best days we have had in a very long time. It was cloudy, rainy, damp and just plain yucky outside. So what made it so great?

This:

And this:

And do you know why we had mud on our roads and ponds in our fields? Because according to my vehicle, we had

This:

51 degrees!

F-I-F-T-Y O-N-E D-E-G-R-E-E-S!

People - this is February. This is Iowa. This is not normal.

Oh but we'll accept it!

It was still cold enough that when the heated water dish was empty the farm cats took turns sitting in it. The big sissies.

I don't feel bad for them at all either, because they are wild, and they are mean. This one for example growled long and loud at me for getting within a 6' distance to take this picture. I reminded him of the saying which has to do with not biting the hand that feeds you, but I don't think he cared.

For one brief second I felt a little bad that they were out of water until this nasty ol' kitty hissed at me as soon as I stepped closer to fill it up. Fine, deal with dehydration your own way and drink from a mud puddle. See if I care. I had Jay fill it up later.

I know that today doesn't signal the end of Winter. After all, this is February. This is Iowa. This is not normal.

But we'll enjoy it as long as it does last.

Winter In Iowa

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:
Georgians put on coats, thermal underwear, gloves,wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Iowans close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico .
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the Snowmobile.

40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late.

And if you think I'm kidding about this all being true, come to Iowa in March or April. As soon as it gets in the upper 40's we'll open our windows to air out our homes, we'll shed our winter coats and just wear a sweater with our shorts, and we'll also drive with our tops down on our cars.

As a matter of fact, just yesterday I ran a couple of errands and got groceries. It was 37 degrees at that time. I counted no less than 10 motorcycles out and about. I even ditched my winter coat for the day and had a hoodie sweatshirt on instead.

We are a hardy bunch here in the midwest.

Nature's Beauty

A couple of nights ago we were driving home around 10pm and it was very very foggy. Like, don't drive much over 30mph kind of foggy. I found that really bizarre because it was also around -10 degrees outside. How could you have fog when it was so ridiculously cold?


I have not attempted to hide my dislike of Winter. I admit it and I own up to it. But just when I am starting to look online for lakefront property someplace where it doesn't snow and they put umbrellas in my drinks, God gives me something to smile at right here in the frozen tundra.


The fog was still as thick as pea soup the next morning. Around 10:00am it started to lift and it left ice crystals on everything outside. Look at these two trees in front of our home:

How incredibly beautiful are they? They looked like the Christmas trees you can buy that have been flocked. These pictures don't really do them justice though. To see them in person was almost breath taking.

Ok, this is one thing you don't get to see in those tropical locations, so I guess that helps make winter, uh likeable? No. Enjoyable? No. Let's go with....tolerable.

The Highs And The Lows

Check out our temps for yesterday. These are temps....no windchills added in.

High - 2:00pm

Low - 9:00pm

God, winter really isn't one of Your better ideas. I'm sorry, but it's true. I don't mean any disrespect....I'm just sayin'.