Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Critters & cars in the snow

This is what was happening while I distracted myself with summer and tire swings in last night's post. It was snowing. All day. Much of the night. Anywhere from six inches to a foot, depending on which part of town you inhabit. A lot more in Flagstaff, of course.

Certainly not enough here to discourage neighbor dog number one, digging for the frisbee (or is it simply a discarded CD? I'm sure which doesn't matter to the playful pup.)

Here's his housemate, also digging in the snow.

Friend Patty sent pix Bob took of two of their dogs romping as the white stuff fell...

...as well as the neighborhood ravens they feed on a regular basis.

This is the scene I caught from my kitchen window later in the day. The driver of this car was determined to make it up our little hill. He tried backing in, failed...

...and went around the corner get a better start...

...this time driving up headed forward...

...and had to back out again. I didn't count the number of tries; all I can report is that he didn't make it. "This is the worst snowstorm that DPS has ever had to deal with in Northern Arizona," said Cmdr. Dean Nyhart of DPS's Northern Bureau Highway Division in a press release late Monday afternoon. Huh?


This was the scene this morning after yet more snow overnight. What's more, you should read the comments attached to the Courier story which quoted that overwrought DPS officer. Many much more memorable storms were cited by residents (and not just old-timers, either). I can recall quite a few, myself.

However, the mailman didn't even try driving up our street, but delivered on foot this morning.

Max thought he could explore the new white terrain next the porch by climbing up on it. Didn't work and, turning around immediately, he must have decided that his window perch in a warm house was preferable.

This being Arizona, the sun was already working its magic by this afternoon, though a heck of a lot of snow remains on the ground -- and we're promised another big storm next week. Ah well, it's great for the crops.

Linkage: Sometimes, I get the feeling that Prescott is just too tidy a little town. That's especially the case after visiting Chatoyance, who finds awesomely seedy (but highly photogenic) scenes in the obscure backwaters of Texas. Take her NO PARKING -- SAXOPHONIST front porch -- you wouldn't find anything that outre even in Bumblebee or Cleator. On the other hand, wonderful things do happen here. Thanks to Jarart at Prescott Area Daily Photo, I have learned that not only were the stained glass windows from the chapel at the old Mercy Hospital saved when the hospital burned in 1940 -- but they now have a home in Prescott Valley.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was waiting for your snow photos, and you delivered BIG TIME, GJ!

Brave Max Cat... the adventurous. :)

The town must look gorgeous with all of that snow. Wish we could be there to see it... to see the Courthouse square, too, with snow.

~Anon in AV.

Anonymous said...

I don't suppose many folks have snow tires on their cars. It does make a difference. I keep mine on about 6 months before putting the summer tires on. There have been years when I didn't take them off. Nice photos.

Avus said...

Makes our little snow-falls here in England recently look very small beer indeed.
Yet the media gets so over-wrought that one would think it was the end of the world!

Judy said...

They always say, "this is the worst we've ever seen" no matter what it is. I must say, this little snowfall was not the worst by any means. Before the drought began, this was a common sight in winter and late spring. How quickly we forget. Great snow pictures!! Love the dogs playing in the snow.

Granny J said...

anon av -- unfortunately, I have no cause to call a cab for a ride downtown to see the Square in the snow. However, Rich at the Airstream Chronicles has two posts of snow scenes, including pictures of the Square and Bucky O'Neill rendered with his HDR sleight-of-hand.

steve -- you must be in the Bavarian Alps? If not global warming, we've definitely had Prescott warming since I moved here 25+ years ago. We used to have several storms like this every winter & people were prepared.

avus -- we've got cities where the world freaks out over two inches of snow -- like Washington DC. I think the problem is probably people what don't know how to drive in the snow.

jarart -- the dogs certainly enjoyed themselves a lot more than my dear cat, who tried the outdoors once again this morning -- and gave it up almost immediately.

meggie said...

Some great photos here!

Kim said...

It's so fun to see the dogs playing in the snow!

Anonymous said...

Great snow photos! I like the dogs in the snow.

Granny J said...

thank you, meggie -- I had a great subject to work with!

kim -- snowis definitely for dogs, not for cats.

dagny -- and I shot most of them through my window, keeping reasonably warm...

Anonymous said...

I wonder why dogs like snow so well. It's nice and soft, like sand, which also perks them up.

I wonder if it's because the snow suppresses the background odors on the ground, leaving only the fresh scents on top.

Granny J said...

boonie -- not being a dog person, I am totally at a loss when it comes to figuring out why they like the snow.

 
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