Our share of the Big Storm

Yes, the big coast-to-coast storm earlier this week did pass over Prescott, bringing us our first moisture in over a month. As such, it was welcome. Not so the high winds. But the winds are another story. Later. Tonight, the subject is snow.

Usually the result of a snow storm is a load of of the white stuff on our pines and naked deciduous trees. At first, on Monday afternoon, the snow began to build up on the Ponderosa (above) and the Scotch pine (below). By the next morning, most had been blown off, which is too bad. As long as we're going to have a snow storm, that Christmas card look is one of the big payoffs. However, the start was pretty.

Though we had about six inches total, it didn't pile up very high on the juniper or tree branches.

My strawberry pot will be well watered; the snow is melting very gradually. Meaning that it is cold. As in BRRR!

Our street, being unpaved never sees the snow plow. That leaves a neat canvas for interesting tire patterns.

The embankment collects various critter tracks, primarily dogs and the occasional cat, whereas the road (below) collects people prints (left) together with dog meanderings (right).

Here's my neighbor with Toby, who's straining at his leash to catch the frisbee.

When I finally ventured out into greater Prescott, the major streets were reasonably well plowed, though there was still a covering of snow. That was on Wednesday. Today, Thursday, my street is still snow covered -- and we're expecting another storm this weekend. And another next week. All thanks to that El Nino dominating the Pacific this season.

All About the Storm: The Prescott Pines Camp suffered major damage from the winds, including a Ponderosa that crashed into its dining hall. For a round-up of news about the storm, check out the Courier story; I don't know if electric service has been restored in all the outlying areas or not. NASA's Earth Observatory has a great big picture of the Big Storm here.

Winter Discontents

How lush the Siberian elms, the cottonwoods, and other deciduous trees are in summer. How cool Ruth Street is on a hot day!

And how dreary the same trees can look in January! That's probably the reason that "in the pines" adds tens of thousands of dollars to property prices here in Prescott. The ponderosas are beautiful in winter, especially in the snow. But there's a catch: pines continue to provide shade when you least need it. People who settled this older neighborhood were more practical. Like today's greens, they figured that you want more sunshine in the cold months. Lower heating bills. Or maybe they just liked the kinds of trees they remembered from Ohio and other points east.

One thing I do notice when the leaves are gone -- the extent to which the tree surgeons have been at work on the older trees. In fact, people hereabouts often go to great lengths to save aging shade trees, especially those monster cottonwoods near Granite Creek.

Still, there is a delicate, mournful beauty to bare trees in winter. And the reassurance that they will leaf out once again the coming spring.

Two Bonus Inches: Better Than Nothing

As a matter of fact, I was rather amazed to find the pots topped with a bit of snow this morning. The storm that had been hyped happened yesterday, when we also got two inches, but by bedtime, all that snow was gone. Today, after a night of light snow that added up to a seond two inches, the temperature hovered around the freezing point and the snow lasted a little longer.

A snow-whitened roof made a nice backdrop for the small pines across the way...

...and always looks picturesque on the juniper
.
The Max cat couldn't be persuaded that the weather was not fit for GrannyJ nor cat. He just had to get outdoors. Cats have their rights, after all. He didn't last very long; he's a reasonably intelligent cat.

He did leave a couple of neat paw prints in the snow.

Quite as cool: the first car prints coming round the bend. I'm rather amazed at how the camera renders the white snow in so many different colors!

And then there was the assortment of trails made by one of the next door dogs, his master, and a pick-up truck.

We had some melt; it always begins with the rocks, which hold heat.

The snow is always lighter in the shadow of a big tree; the bare spot above appeared early.

And so we got a wee share of the big storm that is now barrelling for the Plains and the Midwest, where they will be hard hit again. I do wish that Prescott had received a few more inches of that moisture!

Another Indoor Day: Too Cold for the Cat

But first, a confession. I realize that I am a lousy monkey. A lousy cat. My curiosity gene is crippled. I am an abject acceptor of the status quo. Did I think to go exploring and take a look at the "Applications" list when I first tried out my candy-color loaner Mac? No, indeed. I saw the display of program icons at the bottom of the screen and whined about missing my PhotoShop (among other programs.) Today, I finally did look inside -- and, guess what, yes indeed, there was PhotoShop, along with Word and many other apps. The full drill.

I suppose that if I hadn't been stuck inside because of the cold out there, I wouldn't have bothered to look inside the computer. Yes, it was another cold day in Prescott, hovering around the freezing point though the sun was bright. Even Max Cat thinks twice before he actually goes out the door in this weather. But his memory is very short term. After a period of window watching...

...it's time to plead with me to open the front door. Again. Out he goes. It's cold. He's back at the door, squeaking in his funny little voice to be let back in where it's warm. Sort of.

So the cat is indoors most of the day. When I visit the bathroom, he trots along because any beast with half a brain knows that water fresh from the faucet is better for a cat than stale old water in a dish. Better even than water from my glass.

And he opens the kitchen cabinet doors. Max can't stand closed doors. Once he discovers that a large oblong in a wall is a door that can be opened, he will sit by it, waiting patiently for a people door-opener to do his/her duty for the Cat.

Another excellent indoor activity for a confined cat: leaning on the keyboard while I try to do a little research. Note the papers (left) that he has completely covered with Max.

Did I mention the cat's hang-up on waste baskets? What he really wants to do is curl up inside; in the process of getting there, he spills the dang thing.

Tho I can't blame him for this mess I found on the front porch this afternoon. I had put the black garbage bag outdoors, planning to take it downstairs to the city receptacles. An hour later, I found this. Who? Probably the family of javelinas that's been hanging out in the neighborhood -- two adults and two little guys.

Never Try to Outguess The Weather Gods!

If you take a close look at the cheerful packages above, you'll see such labels as Red California Poppy or Mexican Hat, Red. Long-time readers may recall that in a fit of optimism about the El Nino bringing Prescott a wet winter, I bought lots of wildflower seeds to scatter up the hill in advance of our anticipated storms.

There the seeds sit, on the kitchen table. It's too cold to go walking. The various weather sites put the temp at 30 or 32 degrees F (roughly 0 C). All that we got from that big storm that's working its icy way across the Rockies and the Great Plains is bright sunshine and a furnace that's working overtime.

Bah! Several major storms have crossed the country, as befits an El Nino year. Not here. Prescott is way under its average precips for Nov/Dec and now Jan. It's all my fault -- I tried to outguess the Weather Gods by buying a one pound bag of red California poppy seed. Mea culpa.