sleet

Quintessential Spring Day – Day #109

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
After the sleet – Photo: L. Weikel

Quintessential Spring Day

Today was a quintessential Spring day. When I first awoke, there was a weather warning on my phone letting me know that storms were expected and winds and precipitation could whip up unexpectedly. The possibility of this haphazard weather was expected to last until 9:00 p.m. So when I couldn’t fit a walk in before heading out to do some errands, I thought I’d missed the window of walking possibilities.

When I opened my eyes this morning, sunshine was shining in our bedroom windows. But as I permitted myself a languid start to my day, by the time I had dressed both myself and our bed, the sky was decidedly overcast. This day was dreary.

True to predictions, however, I drove north for about 25 minutes and suddenly saw blue sky open up before me, while massive – truly gargantuan – Cloud Beings meandered across the sky like Macy’s Day Parade balloons on steroids.

It was nevertheless a surprise to me when, heading south again, the slate gray clouds on the southern horizon suddenly started spitting countless slush balls at me. The slushy-sleet was coming down so fast and furious at one point that, had I pulled over, I probably could’ve made a snowman.

Spring Magic – Photo: L. Weikel

Two Hours Later

Two hours later, I arrived back home. The sleet had subsided for the moment and sunshine actually started beaming out from behind another set of impressive clouds traveling east. The wind was still whipping and the temperature was on the cold side, but the call was for even colder temperatures later. So we put the pups’ coats on and set out.

We rounded the first corner and didn’t it start to sleet again? This time it wasn’t slush-sleet; it was tiny pricks of ice sleet and buffeting winds. We hesitated. The pups shivered. Since we weren’t getting soaked, we kept on. Massive clouds pushed through and within just a few minutes we were glad we’d persisted and resisted the temptation to turn back.

About two thirds of the way around our circuit, we suddenly realized how utterly delightful it was out. Sunlight brilliantly glittered off pop-up roadside streams. We loosened our jackets and reveled in what I mentioned earlier was a quintessential Spring day. Mother Nature’s moods were mercurial and each facet held an element of wildness and passion.

Finally, an hour or so after our walk, I had to run another errand. What a gift it was to be out again, because otherwise I would’ve missed a spectacular sunset. Rays, reflections, and indescribably vibrant colors bombarded my senses one after another.

This day turned out wildly different than I expected in a myriad of ways – and I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed so much of it.

Striated Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+109)

It’s Ugly – Day 830

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Another day, another year, but beautiful nonetheless – Photo: L. Weikel

It’s Ugly

I’m struggling to come up with something interesting to write about this evening. Everything just seems so damn depressing. From the politics of last week to climate change this week, preparing for the impact of which was completely botched by politicians in Texas due to their slavish dedication to the vaunted holy grail of deregulation, it’s ugly. And that’s not even mentioning the ongoing pandemic and the threat of what seems like a bazillion mutations appearing now and expected to continue dodging, dancing, and shifting their structures into the future.

I look out my window at the moment and see a car slowly making its way along our road, ice crunching under the tires. It’s slippery out there. I know firsthand.

A Miserable Mix

As we walked late this afternoon, the precipitation was a miserable mix of sleet and rain that turned to ice as soon as it hit anything – including my jacket. Running my hand along my sleeve or the front of my jacket felt like I was reading braille.

On the last stretch of the walk there were at least three inches of snow on the road surface, with a coating of ice on top that added that crunchy cadence to all our footsteps – even Spartacus’s. It was easier to walk in the thicker stuff. Anything that had been packed down was completely slick. So I was careful.

But as we started to make our final descent down the hill that leads to the crossroads near our home, my feet went out from under me. This fall unfolded more slowly than the last one (in which I smacked the back of my head) and I must say, I do believe I scored at least a 7.5 in grace.

Tomorrow’s Promise

I do have one hope that always bubbles up on days like this and never grows old. It’s the hope that we will awaken tomorrow to an indescribably breathtaking winter wonderland, where every single branch of every single tree, every single blade of grass and every single pine needle is coated in ice. And to top off the perfection, the sun needs to come out and cast glistening rainbows making life look like it’s taking place inside a magical kingdom.

If I’m lucky, I’ll see it and share the magic with all of you. In the meantime, we’ll have to make due with memories from other such storms. Because trust me – there was nothing but gray skies to document today.

Icicles – Photo: L. Weikel

 

(T-281)

Love It – Day 766

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Mid-storm – Photo: L. Weikel

Love It

I’m sitting here in the silence that is actually anything but silent. The snow and sleet that’s been coming down steadily in very fine flakes (and crystals) all day since 2:00 p.m. continues to swirl and tink-tink-tink against our windows. I love it. And the wind!

Clearly this is no light and fluffy affair. Nope. And it would appear both the state and township are deciding there’s no point in trying to get ahead of this storm. I don’t think I’ve seen one plow go by yet, and we’re approaching 11 hours of virtually non-stop precipitation.

There’s a seriously icy edge to this storm, too. Although perhaps because of that and the weight of the somewhat sleet-like particles raining from the sky, it doesn’t look like the accumulation is as high as one might expect. It’s hard to tell from inside, and truth be told (I must be getting old), Karl and I decided to forego a walk today.

Part of me is disappointed in us. But oh well. Maybe we’ll take two tomorrow. (Doubt it.)

A Strange Sight

I took the accompanying photos just a few minutes ago, to provide a comparison to the ones I used in my blog post the other day.

If you take a close look at the one below, there are some very odd markings on the front porch pillar facing the camera.

I quite distinctly see a face looking at me at the top of that column. And the whole ‘design’ is lovely. I can’t tell if it’s a pattern created by the precipitation (which would be weird) or if it’s just a trick of the light or the camera. But I can vouch for the fact that there’s no design on that column ordinarily, nor is there, especially, a face glancing in my direction. Usually, anyway.

Strange.

I hope all of you who are in the midst of it are enjoying this storm and don’t have to venture out in it (other than to play).

Bizarre designs on post – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-345)