Let's Talk About Snow

Wait - Did you say snow?  You betcha, Baby.  It may be 104 in the shade outside today, but I wanna talk about that bright, beautiful, white stuff.
The most snow that I ever experienced in one storm, was the record 13" that fell in one 24-hour period on March 12-13, 1993, in Birmingham, Alabama.  Yes, I just said Alabama.  At the time they called it "Winter Storm 93."  Poor Garrison Keillor got stuck in town once the airports closed, and brought his Prairie Home Companion to the historic Alabama Theater - to those who were within walking distance! 

I was almost done with my junior year of high school that year - and I even remember wanting to wear shorts to school earlier in the week.  But once those big clumps of white stuff started falling from the sky, they changed their mind about keeping us in school.

Later that night, there was a weird sight to behold:  Thundersnow!  Who knew such a thing existed!? (Okay, what southern girl knew it existed...)  The sky was almost greenish that night.  Creepy creepy.

Yes, that's me...  March 13, 1993

We awoke to almost 18" in our front yard - and with the wind that the thundersnow storm brought, drifts on the side of the house that were almost 3 feet deep!  The power had finally given way in the night, and what followed were several days without power, with lows in the single digits. 

The next few days were spent checking on elderly neighbors, taking things out of the freezer and putting them in the snow banks so they wouldn't spoil, and one tumultuous drive to the ER after my dad slipped, fell, and broke his foot going to help a neighbor.  Let me just tell you that this 16-year old driver was very cautious on roads that could not be cleared - because the city didn't own a snowplow.  Not one!  At least it had been a few days for things to thaw, be driven on, and moved around somehow.

I was even filmed that day by a local news station that was in the area filming.  I had the task of uncovering our car in all that snow, so that we could take Dad to the ER that evening.  I don't remember what they asked me about, or what I even said.  Didn't matter, I suppose - because there was no way of watching the news for at least a week (without power).

Perhaps, because I was an innocent youth, I still look back on this cold, exhausting time with wonder and excitement.  (All those years in girl scouts and teaching wilderness survival skills came in handy!)  And I can laugh at dropping the poor, small dog into another snow drift so he could find somewhere to pee.

I can't help but wonder what it would be like if we experienced something similar, here in Nashville (where it's more likely, and we actually own multiple snow plows).  What would MG think?  Would I have enough supplies on hand to be trapped at home for the week?  Would she laugh, take pictures, and help out neighbors like I did?  I'd like to think so.  She's such a great kid.

Too Hot for the Shade!

Yes, it's for real.  Record high temperatures are headed our way for the next week - and are almost too hard to believe.

This is a screen shot from the Weather Channel just a few minutes ago.  Yesterday, they were only predicting 104 for Friday!  Can it be too hot to go swimming?  Possibly so!

So what will Independence Day look like?  Only a mere 99 degrees... which should seem like a break from these temperatures!

Meanwhile, Colorado burns with out of control forest fires, and the remains of Tropical Storm Debby flood Florida & the Gulf Coast.  Maybe there is something to this whole Global Warming thing...

No More Camera Envy!

Yes, I know it's a sin.  "Thou shalt not covet another mother's camera!"  And for the first time in 8 years, I realized at the Christmas Pageant last year that what I had wasn't even second-best, but third rate.  I never said anything to my dear Hubby.  Never even looked at ads for the latest zooming-filming-bigger-than-a-bread-box camera.  But somehow he knew, and started looking.

We had the opportunity to make a little money at the end of May, and decided to blow it all on ourselves.  What did Hubby have in mind?  A NIKON.  A real, brand-new, honest to goodness, top of the line Nikon Camera.  WOW.  And he saved a bundle off the original price - enough to buy a 55-200mm zoom lens to go with it!

He says he bought it for me, because the last time he found a great camera deal, he gave it to his mom.  I got over that eventually because she gave us her camera, which was a definite upgrade.  But then MG dropped it on the pavement on Easter and scratched the lens.  I think that's when he really started looking, because I was so disappointed.

Bumblebee on Lavender - June 2012, Larissa Root

So with my growing knowledge of photography, a little help from Picasa (love this free software, go get it!) - I'm producing great photos like the one above.  I love being a Shutterbug!

Play It Again, Sam...

Like an old familiar tune, I was drawn to write today.  And in this world of Web 2.0, I still have a this blog floating out in the World Wide Web somewhere.

"One of these days I'm going to blog," I've said for years.  One of these days begins again today.

So what's changed in the past six years?  In some ways, tons.... in other ways, none.  But I'm not going to spend time trying to play catch up.  That never works out and puts pressure on the writer.  And since the writer is always under constant pressure, why burden her further? :)