Half of the SunDogs



Our driveway.



We're out! WOOHOO!

Actually, we got dug out on Sunday the 10th. We'd gotten stranded on the 6th.
Then we got stranded by and ice storm on the 20th, but that was only for one day. Our power went out for about 4 hours on the 21st.

AND... we got a new furnace.

Very cold today (high of 14) but very sunny. We've had clouds and fog ten days straight, so just seeing the sun warmed my heart.

Life is good.

So close...

Cliff once told the story of the time he was in college and took part in a 750 voice choral and orchestra presentation of Handel’s Messiah. He said he was pretty sure there were a few measures during the Hallelujah Chorus when all he could do was just stand there and listen. I can only imagine how all that magnificent music sounded from within.

I went out around 5:30 this frigid morning (it was only -3 today at 5:30) to feed the horses, muck their stalls and de-ice their water. I’ve been doing this 5 times a day and twice a night since Wednesday and have yet to see or hear any traffic either on our road, which is drifted shut, or on the paved road ½ mile away, which is also drifted shut, right at our corner. (Yes, directions to our house include the phrase, “Turn off the blacktop…”) The only sounds that I’ve encountered on these adventures through the storm to the barn have been howling winds and the crunching of my boots on the show.

On my way back to the house, much to my surprise and delight, I heard the sound of a snow plow off in the distance. He was so far away I couldn’t even see his familiar flashing lights. But I could clearly hear the sound of his blade scraping on the pavement and the “beep beep beep” when ever he had to back up. All I could do was just stand there and listen… while the opening measures of the Hallelujah Chorus began to run through my head. The music, however, faded away when I realized the snow plow was moving away from me.

Sigh…..

Praying for Daylight

Well, friends, here we are again. Remember the picture below of the six foot drift that hasn't changed since it landed? Well, it's now taller. And wider. And surrounded by more drifts so I can't get to a good place to photograph it without making my way through waist-deep snow.

And it COLD. -6 F or something like that.

And our furnace isn't working.

And our lane is drifted completey shut.

But, hey! Our power is still on, so we can have space heaters going to take out the chill. And both the satelites are working, so I can blog and watch Food network.

We have a really good barn, so my horses don't have to be out in this brutal weather. (Bubba is an Arabian, you know, so he's not cut out for this kind of stuff.)

The wind finally quit blowing. AND we have a Good Neighbor who will be coming to help dig us out some time today.

We are safe at home, not out on the roads. Except for my brother-in-law who is stranded at a truck stop in Iowa, but he's been there and done that before, so I trust he's hanging in there until he can get back on the road and head for home.

And I had the opportunity to photograph some very impressive sun dogs yesterday. I'll be posting them as soon as I get them developed. (Still haven't gone digital).

So there you have it: the bad news and the good news.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Snow pictures from Nebraska:

The Place - we were stranded here at home from Wednesday through Sunday.



The back yard. This drift is about 6 feet high. It hasn't shrank an inch since it landed.



The horses were glad to get out of the barn when it finally stopped snowing. They were inside for three days.





I think the final tally here was about 14 inches fell from December 23-26. The high winds made travel impossible until Sunday the 27th. More snow and expected on Wednesday the 5th, followed by below zero highs for several days.