Sunday, February 12, 2006

Snowed In; Howling Wind


this is an audio post - click to play



OK, so I woke up this morning and finally got to see the Blizzard of 2006. It didn't start here in RI until about 2 am; when I went to bed I had big visions of getting up this morning to a winter wonderland, and thought I'd have so much fun today making snow angels and blowing snow kisses at the sky.

However, twelve hours later I'm afraid to go outside. Play the audio - listen to my howling wind! They say it's only going to get worse. As I write this, I still have power and satellite TV. I'd love to have a fire, but I'm saving the wood in case the power goes out and I have to use the fireplace for heat. Edited to add: How pathetic does that sound? I took a nap and found my cajones - I'm a risk-taker now! I've got a blaze that you should be able to see from your house!

Which brings me to my next point. Since I can't do anything else today, I plan to write a short missive to the folks at The Weather Channel regarding the correct way to say "Bangor, Maine." It's not "Banger," Maine, it's "Bang-'GORE." 'K? Get it right, for God's sakes. People all over the country are laughing at you, and some (like me) are just insulted.

Here in RI there is a cultural phenomena known as the "Gotta get bread and milk" compulsion whenever more than 3" are predicted. This is because of the Blizzard of 1978 when everyone got stranded on their way home from work, and people died on the highway because the snow piled up over their car exhaust and they got carbon monoxide poisoning. Over 3,500 cars were found abandoned or otherwise stuck on the roads, and the plows couldn't clear the roads for days and days because of them. I wasn't living here at the time, but let me assure you that today there probably isn't a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread to be found on a store shelf for a 50 mile radius. Yesterday there were three sad sacks of hot dog rolls left at the local grocer at 4 pm. I know this because, under peer pressure, I went to get....bread and milk. :)



As a reference to the whiteout factor, I'm including a bonus shot of my driveway:



Yep - that's my trusty Jeep. 4-wheel drive on the fly - couldn't ask for more on a snowy road like this one. I left the power lines in because they follow the road on the right side of the drive. The road kind of curves through the trees, but you can't see even the forest in the background which is about 1/10 of a mile away. The snow is drifting even now to about 3 feet, and I can't currently open my front door due to drifting and the weight of the snow. To get these shots, I had to open the windows. Here's a tip: composition is tricky when you are hanging out a window and choking on blowing snow.

So, here's to being snowed in! It's actually kind of fun....

12 comments:

MattO said...

Wow thats alot of snow. All I can say is that at least you enjoy it, I know I would for about a day, then I'd want it gone.

Anonymous said...

WOW! Looks cold. Did you get the hotdog buns? Nice shots so you can remember the blizzard of '06.

Laurie L. Black said...

Holy moly that's some wind...and some snow! EEEEEK! I'd freak out but then again, not much snow around these parts. ;)

mk said...

Woo, supersnow! You're lucky that that's considered snowed in - here it's just considered another day. :) Will you have work tomorrow do you think?

Kiyoko Gotanda said...

Nyah Nyah! We didn't get the storm! had a nice sunny day at about -10C

Wooo, audio posts! Cool beans... and cool photos, and stop hanging out windows!

Sonja (Photographer/Owner) said...

"Edited to add: How pathetic does that sound? I took a nap and found my cajones - I'm a risk-taker now! I've got a blaze that you should be able to see from your house!"

ROFL! you always have the funniest things to read. I love coming here to read. Glad you are first on my list..lol.

Brrss.. sweet jeep!

puzzled p said...

Oh, I am so glad I signed up for a fake blog so I can leave you a comment:
THANKS for posting RI blizzard shots! You're making me incredibly homesick, though. I miss all that shopping for batteries, water, bread, etc. and then hearing everyone, most of whom have a couple of shopping baskets, saying "I always do my big shopping on Thursday - or whatever day it is they happen to be buying all those flashlights and batteries." And then I remember how disappointing it was to only get a couple of inches of snow. It's great when it's a blizzard, as long as everyone is safe. Be careful and enjoy it! Thanks again for this. It's my favorite PaD post of the year!

Unknown said...

brrrrrr. I would like this for awhile I'm sure. Snowed in and can't get to work.. nice :) As long as I still had electricity that is.

Caroline@ToffleCraft said...

Wow! That's some amazing snow that you've got there. I'm impressed with your capture of it. I think I'd struggle to ever take a photo like that, Edinburgh and snow very rarely are words that can be in the same sentence unless it's the lack of it.

mike fairbanks said...

Awesome, great post, hilarious, as for bang gore, no kidding, but then again the weather channel is a bunch of southerners, what can we expect....mmmm bangor...mmm Dysarts!!!!...mmm time for a road trip, lol!

Karen said...

Cool shots. Today we're getting the extremely high winds but rain, no snow, thank goodness! It did snow a bit overnight though.

TonyV said...

More snow than I can comprehend.

Like the picture of the driveway, especially the Jeep. Great cars aren't they. Mine's only ever seen snow once ... all 6 inches of it ... at the top of a mountain range.