Neither Snow, Nor Sleet, Nor Rain, Nor Dark Of Night...

We all know how the  saying goes and today had it all!  When I awoke this morning it was dark, but as I sat and stared out the window, I could see that there was snow out there.  When there was light enough for a picture I opened the window just enough to take one.  Well yes, I took two just in case, but then I closed the window. We like to keep that heat inside!  I love watching the first snow fall on the garden, but we were scheduled to go out today.  I was not quite prepared for the change.  By the time we got together our coats, hats, gloves, located the snow brush to clean off the car and started out we were just a bit behind schedule.  Winter driving is one of Ed's special skills.  He's a actual native of upstate New York and he drives like one!  He has many years of experience, but the first snow that sticks on the road is always a little adjustment. There was enough slush on the road to make things interesting.   We arrived at our destination in fine shape and I didn't even white knuckle it once.

By the time we headed for home, the sleet was over and the rains had begun.   The slush that had been on the roads in the morning was gone.  We drove home in the rain. This afternoon's picture was taken through the window.  It was raining too hard to open the window.  You can see the water running down the glass.  Now it is 6:30 PM and it is dark again. Today gave us an October sneak preview of things to come.  Ready or not... here it comes!

Beauty Without the Beast

When I awoke at 6:00 AM, it was still dark outside. The sky was clear and I could see the stars. Fog or clouds have blocked their view all summer. I've missed them so I went around the house doing a bit of stargazing out every window. When the sun did come up beautiful snowy winter scenes replaced the stars.

The sun reaches the far hill before it shines on us. The ridge to the east blocks the early morning light here. A blue cast to the snow may be no more than reflected sky color but it always catches my eye.

Snow coats the garden sticking to everything. All we had was gently falling snow. We escaped the winds and the power outages. The beastly part of the storm stayed east of us.

I know before winter is over I will tire of this snowy garden scene, but this morning all I can see is the beauty.

We didn't get a lot of snow here. The shapes of the stones atop the stone walls are clearly visible and the stone path into the basement is almost clear of snow. I watched as every movement of the birds in the trees caused snow to drop to the ground. Now with the  sunlight  the snow is dropping quickly. Soon the trees will have lost their beautiful coat of white. Later today I'm sure most of the snow will be gone and that's great. A brief winter preview is lovely, but I'm not ready for the full length feature to begin. I like snow for Christmas, but not so much for Halloween.

October Snow

Yesterday we watched the rain change to snow. It fell all afternoon before the ground surface cooled enough for the snow to stick. Overnight the temperature dropped into the twenties. Forget frost. The garden got a real freeze. This morning the garden had a thin white covering of snow. It was not a big surprise. In 2009 we had an even earlier October snow  and it was much heavier than this one.

This afternoon most of the snow is gone. Just a thin layer remains  in places that are shaded from the warmth of the sun. Mother Nature has given us reminder of things to come. Garden tools will soon be replaced with snow shovels . The garden tractor will swap its lawnmower for a snow plow. We hope for more gardening time, but tomorrow another storm approaches. It could be rain. It could be sleet. It could be snow. It could be all three. October weather in zone 4 can be just a little spooky!