First Snowstorm of 2012

After all the snow we had last year, and the predictions of a snowy winter this year, I was very happy to have temperatures in the 40's and 50's the last several weeks.  Until today.

Today, the snow started.  And I had a funeral to go to.  My ant's best friend passed away from cancer over the weekend.  I originally wasn't going to go to the funeral, but when the weather turned on us, my ant asked me to go to help her get there and back without slipping and falling.  I headed out to her house last night so I wouldn't have drive in snow this morning, stopping at the wake along the way to give my regards to the family.  I know several of the family members through my ant, so I'm glad I had the chance to offer my condolences.

The snow started falling about 8:00AM, and it's still snowing now at 10:15PM.  Getting to the church wasn't too bad, as the snow wasn't sticking badly to the roads then.  After the mass and luncheon afterwards, the roads were significantly worse.  I dropped my ant off at her house, packed up my stuff and started my trip home.  Normally it takes about 45 minutes on the highway, but since Jan 1 when they doubled the tolls, I have tried to avoid the toll roads as much as possible.  Taking my alternate way home would normally take about an hour, but with the roads it took about an hour and a half.

Once home I got my shovel from my trunk and shoveled a path to my building.  I knew it would be covered by morning, but it would make it easier for everyone when they started coming home in the evening.

That's my car in the top left corner, with no snow on it, and the other car had been there all day.  I'm guessing we had about 2 inches when I took this picture at about 3:00PM.

One of the few things I love about winter and snow:  Pine trees with snow on the boughs.

The wind has picked up so the snow is being blown around, making it hard to determine exactly how much snow we have.  But I find wide spans of undisturbed snow very peaceful.  This is from the stairs on the back side of my building.

With all this snow, I figured the birds would be wanting more seed and fresh water.  Before sweeping the snow off the balcony, I took this picture of some bird tracks.

After filling the feeder with fresh seed, then cleaning and filling the bird bath with fresh water, the birds were ready to come fill their bellies.  I had Chickadees, Northern Juncos and even House Finches eager for me to go inside.  Here's a picture of what I estimate to be a Female House Finch.  It can be difficult identifying a brown bird, because they all look so alike.

Tomorrow morning's commute should be a doozy, so I'll need to get to bed soon if I ever hope to hear the alarm and get up when I need to.

For those of you wanting snow, I'll have plenty to send to you.  If you're one of the lucky ones that will be getting snow or already have snow, be careful out there.  Enjoy the awesomeness of Mother Nature.