Love Letters On the Snow

 Seven Bends State Park

The park’s LOVE sign was made from timbers that came from a barn that stood here when the property was a farm. The shadows are well defined on the ice-covered snow. 

I shared a photo of the barn in 2018. Two years later, the new park was open to the public, although the ribbon cutting ceremony came later due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19 at public events.

Crossing the North Fork on a Snowy Day

Today was the first day this week that I took Charlie to a park. It’s been cold and some of the back roads still have icy patches. The road down to the river was even narrower than usual because the plows had piled snow along the edges. 

Fortunately, we didn’t meet another vehicle on Lupton Road. There was no room to pull over to pass.

There is ice on the North Fork of the Shenandoah, but the main channel is flowing. 

Seven Bends State Park was almost deserted, although there were staff members working around the barn. The parking lots had been cleared, but trails were still covered with icy hard snow. Temperatures have remained below freezing. We did not attempt to take a walk. 

I turned around and drove back across the low water bridge. I was glad to have gotten some pictures of the river, and I think we were both glad to get out of the house.

Snow Day Sparrow and Cardinals

 While snow was coming down on Sunday, these birds braved the weather to visit my feeder.

Song Sparrow

Cardinals

The female cardinal appeared many more times than the male, and probably more than all the other birds put together. Here we see her with her mouth full.

There’s Ice and there’s Snow…

And it's too darn cold!

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Snow Update and. Skateboard Mural

Yesterday I wrote about the snowstorm which produced much less snow than predicted. It turned into icy rain, producing three inches of ice on top of five inches of fresh snow. I could have shoveled the snow, but the hard layer of ice was more than I could remove.

I thought I was prepared because I had contacted the man who usually cuts my grass and clears snow if I need it. Well, late this morning I got a text from him saying that his truck had broken down so he couldn’t come until he got it fixed. By mid-afternoon, I was getting concerned because that ice was getting harder in the frigid temperatures.

I heard a truck and looked out to see if it was Lawrence, but it was a man who tromped through the snow to a neighbor’s door to see if she wanted her driveway cleared. She had already arranged for someone else to do it. He saw me watching him from my porch and asked if I wanted my driveway cleared. His price seemed reasonable, considering that there was ice to cut through, so I told him to please go ahead.

He did not use a plow or snowblower, but cleared the driveway with a shovel. It took over an hour because ice is heavy and has to be chopped with the edge of the shovel before it’s lifted. The plow zone along the street was the worst part, where the town’s machines had piled snow in now-frozen ridges.

I was glad to get the driveway cleared but I did not attempt to drive anywhere. The main streets in town were okay by then, but could easily get icy patches as the sun got low in the sky. I remember living in the mountains just west of here and how the roads would get icy around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. 

Okay, I have a mural for you. I took photos of it last week in Strasburg. This is the half wall at the parking lot of a skateboard shop.

The shop is named Yobbo’s, and they sell skateboarding equipment and clothing, plus bicycles and guitars. The skateboards are popular because Strasburg now has a skateboarding park.

This same wall was previously painted with flowers and a picture of a ram, which is the town high school’s team symbol. The store used to be a flower shop. 

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Prepping for Snow

Before I start talking about the weather, I'll share a nice sunset picture from Friday evening. You can see the contrails left by the jet planes. We are under a major flight path from Dulles Airport.

The forecast for a snow storm this weekend started well in advance. I went to two supermarkets on Thursday and both were crowded, with some items already sold out. There was talk about two feet of snow, but the forecast kept changing, as it usually does in the mountain-valley region. With a mountain range separating us from West Virginia, that state often gets snow that doesn’t cross the mountains to Virginia. 

As it turned out, our snow was only slightly more than ankle deep today, but covered with layers of sleet. Temperatures have been very cold and are not expected to go above freezing for a week.

I made efforts to prepare. On Saturday, I searched for the hose bib covers that I used a couple of years ago, but did not find them. I improvised, loosely following instructions seen on a plumbing advice page. I used a fleece neck gaiter that I never wore, banding it around the spigot, then doubling it back and securing it with duct tape. I had an insulated foil bag that I had saved, so I cut that and wrapped it around the fleece, securing it with duct tape also. This should do the job, and it’s on the back of the house so the lack of beauty doesn’t matter.

 

I moved the snow shovel to a convenient spot, likewise the pet-safe ice melt crystals. I had extra food and water. There was a chance that our electricity would go out, and likelihood that we would not be able to drive to a store, so everyone shopped ahead of time. Oh, and I filled the car with gas.  

The snow started last night before I went to bed. The sound of heavy equipment plowing snow on the street woke me up a couple of times. This morning, I put on boots and warm clothing to try to clear a path for Charlie to walk, but the ice was hard to shovel so I only cleared the steps and doormats. One of the mats is heated to stay above freezing. I noticed that about a third of it was not working well enough to melt the snow, but at least there was a nice clear section. 

Neighbors across the street were clearing their cars and driveway. My lawn care guy is supposed to come to clear my driveway, but I think he decided to wait until the snow and sleet stopped falling, so I hope he comes tomorrow morning.

Oh, my ice melt product had caked up into a hard block like a rock, so I couldn’t use it. I banged it around a little bit and put a desiccant packet into the container. I might be able to salvage some of it.

Charlie refused to walk in the snow and sleet. We went outside three or four times, but he never got farther than three feet off the heated mat. Then he looked around at me as if horrified, and came running back in the house.

He has walked in snow before, but it wasn’t this cold, Last winter, we only had a light snow that melted off the driveway within a few hours. 

I’ll close with a picture of a bird in a tree.

Winter Weather and Charlie’s Critter Report

Note: We’re getting snow tonight and tomorrow, and possibly ice. Ice can cause his power outages As well as other inconveniences, so I hope that doesn’t happen. Temperatures are going to be below freezing for several days. Right now, it’s 14°F (-10°) and when I got up this morning, it was only 7°. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled Saturday program: Charlie’s Report.

<< It got cold this week so we didn’t take many walks in the parks. We did go to the state park on Monday. Mom took a box of food and stuff to a truck that was collecting things for Martin Luther Day of Service. 

We walked along the river, but there was a branch across the trail.

Then I got a little sick and Mom got worried so she called the vet. I guess I ate something that wasn’t too good. I like to sniff everything and sometimes I eat grass and leaves and stuff.

The next morning we went to the vet, but I was feeling much better. The vet said I was fine. 

Here’s the unfriendly cat in our yard again. I watched it from inside the door. 

Here’s an artified picture of the cat. It looks better in yellow, doesn’t it?

We put out extra birdseed today. I think this one eats it all. She is there most of the time.

My friend Sadie is feeling much better and I went to see her again today. That’s a fun thing to do when it’s too cold to go exploring outside.

I hope you have a good place to play and a warm place to sleep.

Trees Reflected in Black and White

North Fork of the Shenandoah

 

This view is along a trail on the Hollingsworth Road side of Seven Bends State Park, Woodstock. 

Our park was just voted the town’s Tourism Business of the Year! 

Drive-by Pictures

Most of these pictures are from three weeks ago.

The first one shows a sign at the Family Drive-in in Stephens City. When it closed for the season in late November, it closed permanently. Movies were shown there for 69 years!

Next, we have a motorbike that was parked outside a dollar store. Stickers reveal the owner’s xenophobic feelings.

Not everyone agrees. In fact, demonstrators in our rural county have been out twice a week to make their feelings known.

The lighted towers were part of a December attraction at the fairgrounds in Woodstock. It was basically a drive-through show of holiday lights. I took the picture from a nearby parking lot because I didn’t want to buy a ticket to go by myself. It’s the sort of thing that children would enjoy.

Bird Post #1280

According to Blogger Stats, this is Post #1,280 that is labeled "Birds." I have 9,350 posts total. I keep an eye on those statistics because they amaze me, or maybe they appall me. Have I really been doing this that long? Well yes, I started in 2005. 

Virginia is now seeing winter weather. Mornings have been well below freezing, and snow is predicted for this weekend, possibly 20 inches. Then again, the storm could go to the north and miss us again. In the meantime, here’s take a look at the birds that have been visiting my feeders this week. These are motion-activated pictures from the Birdfy camera.

We’ll start with the cardinal. The male is brilliant red. The female is subtle olive with touches of red.
 

The male house finch has some red feathers too. 

The slate-colored junco is gray and white but a charming bird. It’s also called a dark-eyed junco. This one appears to be starting to land. 

And just for fun, here’s a junco coming in from the other side. 

Both Forks in January

 Yesterday on the North Fork

Today on the South Fork

Wordless / Mosaic