snow pictures – Living, Loving, Laughing….

It doesn’t snow often here. Not more than an inch, and if it does snow an inch it goes away by noon the next day.

But when it’s a real snow? Look out! And boy did it really snow!

I think I have the Green Bay Packer Snow Mojo Team to thank. Since they arrived in our Superbowl town, our weather went (north?) to the cold arctic arm pit. I heard Dallas was colder than Anchorage on Wednesday. So, um, thank-you! I’m rooting for ya! And after the game on Sunday, we are ready to see our 60’s again, mkay?

The weatherman predicted snow about 3am, actually it started at midnight. This was not the sleet and ice snow bits like Tuesday. These were honest to God snowflakes – fat and happy – floating their way down to stick.

Brownie seeing snow. REAL snow falling for the first time in her puppy life.

This caused a great uproar in the house to those of us awake. The husband. The teen. I think he almost (almost) woke the little girls up to see it too (he wanted too!). We are not used to it falling, not used to it sticking, and definitely not used to it being fluffy. It’s funny, because we jumped, hollered, ran outside with tongues hanging out (okay, that was just me and Sydney).

Texans heart snow.

The ground (and ice) was completely covered within thirty minutes. The snow churned from the sky like someone had a machine aimed right at us. I was so thrilled, I did not go to sleep until about 2am (still planning on going to work if I could). I couldn’t help it. I had to keep looking out the window to see if it was still there. It was!

I woke up at my normal time. Took the crazy snow dogs out and waited about five minutes for the little girls to wake up. They are early risers (just like the dogs). I get a text that the office is closed due to weather. Another snow day for ALL of us ( as the schools had announced closing the day before).

Ice is one thing. It’s cold. It makes the world a freezer and it’s not fun to play in. Tuesday and Wednesday we had ICE. We had ten degrees with a windchill of zero. Not fun. Snow is another thing all together.

Snow is fun. Snow and thirty-degree weather all day is even more fun.

Here is a recap of half the day.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? What is that streaking through the snow faster than a speeding bullet?

It’s Brownie the Abominable Snow Dog!

Able to dodge small children in a single bound.

Of course she’s not really abominable. She is cute, hairy, and full of big dog ‘tude.

Needless to say – Brownie LOVES snow. The real stuff. She thought she loved the ice stuff, but no, it’s THIS stuff she loves.

By afternoon, she had so much snow crusted on her face and feet, Jason had to give her a bath. It was that bad. She would not come in. Over and over, she buried, chased, jumped and dug her face into the mounds of snow. Sooo fun!

Then, The Teen rose from her slumber. All the girls bundled up, and well…….I guess they love snow too.

This crazy dog Anna can catch a snowball in mid-air. Amazing!

Like I said, a super fun day had by all, all the way around. And this is only part one. Part two is tomorrow. I will explain Texas sledding and how to build Stan the Snowman. Hippiest dude this side of Red River. 🙂

Are the snow flakes bigger in Texas?

Why yes, yes they are. Because in big ol’ Texas? Go big or go home! At least that’s what the snowfall said THIS year. Our measly two to four inches predicted that I scoffed at. Scoffed? Yes I scoffed. How many times have they predicted a HUGE Winter storm that dusted an inch of snow that immediately turns to treacherous ice then disappears by mid-day, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. We get robbed of snowmen, snowforts, and beautiful white landscapes. Instead we get to watch cars get banged up and crunched from either a) going to FAST b) going to SLOW c) realizing your are on an icy bridge so you HIT THE BRAKES (Huh?). That’s right. This is North central Texas. No one knows how to drive in ice and snow. Even the airport can’t function.

Imagine my utter amazement as the snowfall of one to two inches predicted actually started falling sometime after midnight on Wednesday. We woke up Thursday morning to the standard dusting. Whooppee! It happened. The weather man was right? Cool! Much to Sydney’s disappointment school did not cancel. Then, as the day wore on, much to our astonishment, it KEPT FALLING.

Texas sized snowflakes were floating down outside my fourth floor window ALL day. Oh.Em.Gee. It didn’t stop after an hour or two. It kept falling, and falling, and falling. I’ve been at work ALL morning and the snow has not let up. It’s gotten heavier. The trees are now coated. The ante upped to 4-6 inches. I look out my window and take a photo with my iPhone.

Later in the afternoon as the forever ending flakes came down, I hear it’s now predicted at 8-10 inches of snow. WHAT? In Texas???? I knew then the client I was on the phone with trying to fly to Fort Wayne Indiana was going nowhere. I helped him and three buddies get out the next day. You want an early morning flight? HEH! My advice, as your travel agent, wait until noon then you have a shot. Early morning flights get canceled. Trust me, I’ve been doing this for twenty years.

This week, with the endless snow storms across the country, rescheduling passengers has been a nonstop job. It kills me. The disappointment, and the frustration from them and their loved ones. Mother nature is unkind to airline passengers. On the other hand, I am HAPPY there are rules in place to keep our precious cargo safe. If there weren’t rules in place, you might have pilots trying to get people home when they shouldn’t risk it. I’d rather you suffer a delay then never get home at all. So thank you FAA.

I took a slushy road trip to Jason’s at lunch. I was dying to get my camera and check it out through that lens. Quite honestly I felt like a REAL photographer out in the backyard with an umbrella, to keep the camera dry, while I carried it mounted on a monopod. This is a few that I shot.

Back at work, the winter snow saga continues. A week of canceled flights. First Chicago, then the entire Northeast corridor, THEN DALLAS. Which was a HUGE surprise. I leave work about 630pm. I drive a Toyota Matrix. A cracker car. The temp is hanging at freezing which is great. Nothing is FROZEN but snow has piled up and turned the road into a 7-11 brain freeze. My little car RULED the road. I passed RAM trucks going 20mph. I don’t even think I slid but one time. My little car rocks or maybe it’s my driving skills (haha).

Here is what my drive home looked like that night, because our office does NOT close when it snows. We are there for our travelers, just like the mailman.

Quite a change from the usual commute. And guess what? The snow is still coming down. I keep looking out the window thinking it will stop any moment. Not so. NOW we hear it might be 12 INCHES. It’s 830pm with 9 inches on the ground. I know anyone reading this who lives where it snows is going – What’s the big freakin’ deal? – and you would be right. Where you live, this is no big deal. But HERE? This hasn’t happened in 30 years. 30 YEARS. Snow is an urban legend. Someone may or may not have seen a flake west of downtown in the year 1984. *slightly exaggerated*

It’s possible we could get snow that sticks – ONE time a winter. It could happen. BUT, we had ALREADY gotten our ONE possible winter snowfall Christmas Eve. Remember that? It was magical. So magical, I wrote a poem, and I don’t even write poetry Christmas Dreams. We had our snow. There is no more, right?

These are photos taken in the still of the morning after a record snowfall in Dallas/Fort Worth. A record 12.5 inches. A historic weather year in 2010. The year I am marrying my sweetheart. What MEMORIES. I am not worthy of the beauty or significance. Stunned and awed, I crunch through the quiet trying to capture an unbelievable winter moment of our lifetime. The rare and solemn beauty may never witness again outside our back door.

A friend on Facebook heard a radio broadcast mention, there was snow in all fifty states yesterday. You know what? I believe that! We got snow bombed. It melted some but not all the way. Even today TWO days later there is still snow on the ground. The roads have stayed clear and ice-free (a miracle in itself). The only road hazards happened in the driveway, because without any equipment, it’s hard to move snow. Apparently cardboard box pieces work wonders. Did you know there are no sleds, nor snow shovels in stores? Not to mention, if you go looking for rain/snow boots – you will only find displays of FLIP FLOPS? Yeah, welcome to Texas. Where the snow never falls, but when it does…..it’s bigger and better y’all.