Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice and already I am so very tired of winter.  Or at least with its byproducts.  All we've been hearing is that La Nina will be giving us a very dry winter.  So far we've had three winter storms in two weeks with the latest one hitting today.

In a theoretical sense, I like snow.  I like to stay indoors and watch it snow.  I don't particularly like to be out in it. 

What's most annoying is the timing of this latest storm.  It was originally forecast to hit us starting late yesterday and continue on into today with it clearing out tomorrow.  Instead it started tonight and is continuing on into tomorrow.  I'm hoping we don't get a lot of snow or I may not be able to make it to the airport on Saturday so I can visit with my family on Christmas.  Sigh.

Oh, well, will deal with things as they happen.

On a related note, things were VERY foggy in the way to work on Wednesday.  Normally when you look at this tree, you can see buildings behind it.  I thought it looked cool with standing there all alone.

Papillon

It Takes All Kinds

I like to read the etiquette column written by Miss Manners.  I may not always agree, but I find it to be an interesting read.

Sometime back, a reader wrote in saying they like to read obituaries.  (Not my cup of tea, but it takes all kinds to make the world go around.)  The reader said they had noticed the beginning of an annoying trend.  In most obits, it says something to the effect of "in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice".  Or something similar.

However, the annoying trend spotted by the reader involved relatives of the deceased asking for cash contributions to be made to them instead.  (The relatives, not the deceased.)  The reader thought this was just another cash-grab on the par of people asking for cash instead of wedding gifts, birthday presents, etc. and thought it was tacky.

Miss Manners agreed, although in a much more refined fashion.

Since then, I've taken to occasionally scanning the obit section of the local paper.  It doesn't happen often, but I spotted an example in today's (12/10/11) paper.  Specifically for an 85-year-old named Marian W. Payden.  She's described as beloved wife of (her husband), loving stepmother of Scott and Kristin Payden.

The obit goes on to say, "In lieu of flowers, donations can be mailed to Scott and Kristin Payden, (street address), Medina, Ohio...."

In the past I've seen verbiage that asked for cash to help with funeral expenses.  I can sort of understand that.  In these tough economic times, not everyone has insurance or savings to help pay for funeral costs.  But today's example left me with a dropped jaw.  For all we know, good old Scott and Kristin are going to take the 'donations' and head for a Caribbean cruise.  Or Las Vegas.  So much for honoring their 'loving stepmother'. 

Sheesh!

Papillon

Snowed In

In yesterday's post, I spent a fair amount of time kvetching about the small amount of snow we had gotten.  I should be careful about what I kvetch about.

The forecasters all said we would be getting more snow.  Maybe 1-2 inches overnight with the possibility of more snow today.  Sure enough, it started to snow last night.  I was hoping it would blow through  leaving a minimum of snow behind.

No such luck.  I got up this morning and found a good 4-6 inches on the ground and more falling.  Work's start time was delayed by 2 hours.


















One problem - I drive a PT Cruiser.  The front end only clears the ground by about 4 inches.  (I've confirmed this the hard way by scraping the curb if I pull too far forward in a parking space.)  With 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground, I'm no longer driving a car, instead I'm driving a cute red snow plow.

So I called work and said that I'm taking a vacation day since I'm not able to get out of the subdivision.  Fortunately, I didn't have anything critical work-wise on my plate.  I did miss a holiday luncheon that sounded as though it was going to be yummy.  (Rats!)

I really didn't want to see the snow.  I'm saving up my vacation time for some stuff I'm planning on doing next year.  The snow just shot 9 hours of that.  Sigh.  Plus, since I took the above pictures, I've been shoveling snow.  Apparently I overdid it with my right arm because it's feeling really tight.  Oh, well.  After I get done here, I get to go out and move more snow.  I may spread some sand as well.  No point in walking out tomorrow morning and hitting ice.  I've never been fond of falling down.  Nope, no thanks.

Papillon

P.S.  I actually measured the snow on top of my car.  I officially got 6 1/4 inches.  Sheesh.  One of the forecasters said there are parts of the metro area that only got a few flakes.  Salt in the wound.
P.S.2  The forecasters are saying we will be getting down into double digits over night.  Oh, really.  If I wanted winter time temps in the single digits I'd move to some place like Minnesota or North Dakota.  (And yes, I do realize their single digits are usually negative numbers.)
P.S.3  I am SO glad I had my house re-piped earlier this year.  Now my pipes are all properly insulated (unlike those installed by the builder) and much less likely to be affected by really cold temperatures.

Not Everyone Dislikes the Snow

Yesterday I ranted about how I'm not the world's biggest fan of snow.  This feeling obviously does not apply to everyone and that includes some of the area's critters.

I have a large fir tree in my front yard.  Several years ago I noticed that one or more of the local rabbits likes to hang out at the base of the trunk of said tree.  To a certain extent, it makes sense.  With its butt up against the trunk, the rabbit is fairly safe from larger predators sneaking up on it from behind.  This is bolstered by the branches around the base of the tree.  The possibility of being stabbed in the face by a branch deters coyotes, et. al. from just rushing in.  On the other hand, the branches aren't packed too close so as to hinder the rabbit's field of vision.  (Note:  I don't know if it's always the same rabbit I see or if a number of rabbits have figured out the niceness of napping under my tree.)

After all my anti-snow rantings, I was surprised to walk out around mid-morning and see the rabbit snuggled under the tree.  Here's a wide shot of the rabbit - he's the small mound of brown fur at the base of the trunk.

Here's more of a close-up. 

I was hoping to get a shot from an angle that didn't have a branch across him/her.  But Rabbit was camera-shy (or people-shy) and hopped off after just a couple of shots.

I'm not sure why Rabbit wasn't freezing its butt off sitting directly on the snow.  But it seems to like where it's at because its been there for several hours.

To each, their own.

Papillon (who's staying inside and out of the snow)

Extremes

I like moderation in all things.  I am NOT a fan of extremes. 

This applies to food - not too bland and not too spicy.
And to clothing - not too much, not too skimpy.
I especially dislike poltical and religious extremism.

All of this also applies to weather.  I love spring and autumn.  The weather (usually) is not too hot and not too cold. It is normally just right.

I am not a big fan of summer.  However, air conditioning is a big mitigating factor.

I am the smallest fan ever of winter.  I don't like cold.  I don't like windy and cold.  I especially don't like to have to personally experience snow.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to look at snow.  I don't mind looking at photos at snow.  Or, looking at snow from indoors is OK.  As long as I don't have to actually go out into it.

What brings all of this up is the current weather.  It snowed very lightly last night.  It melted off rapidly this morning. 
It's snowing again tonight.  I'm willing to be fine with it since tomorrow is Sunday and I don't HAVE to go anywhere tomorrow.

The forecasts say there may be more snow on Sunday night.  NOOOOOO!!  I hate driving in snow.  I can do it, I just hate it while I'm there.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the forecasters are wrong.  But I'm suspecting they're not since the chance for snow tomorrow night is 90%.  (Forceful expletive deleted)  On one positive note, they're only expecting about an inch.  If they've got to be right, let's hope they're right about that.

Papillon