Seattle Is A Wimp?

The Ken and Barbie wise-guys in Los Angeles called us Seattle folks “wimps” yesterday because they heard we were crippled and grumbling from the horrific snow and ice storm which is finally now on the melt.

O yeah? I’d love to see how they would handle the barrage of elements that hit us during the past three days. Tinseltown comments, by the way, are pretty much ignored up here in the real world.

Pictured above is what happens when a tree becomes snow-laden and then slightly melts in the day-time sun but then re-freezes in the night chill. The heavy ice that accumulates becomes too much for the tree to bear, and it comes down – not caring what is in the way. Pictured at the top, in contrast, is a sample of the beauty that can be gleaned even from adversity – both photos taken by SeattlePI.com).

When a tree falls on power lines, people are suddenly without electricity. Right now (Friday evening) almost a quarter of a MILLION homes still are in the dark. We were without power for 15 hours on Thursday, and that seemed like an eternity. But we were among the first to get our power back. I can only imagine how these folks are feeling as many of them are now approaching 48 hours of heatless homes.

Above is what our town house complex looked like on Wednesday morning looking out from our garage. Still tonight, the now solidly frozen, tire rutted snow is 6” deep – making it nearly impossible to even walk on. Yesterday, I could not navigate the 200 feet to our mailbox on the slippery ruts, grooves and frozen slush.  I simply didn't trust my decrepit knees to hold me up in the wind.

And I don’t consider myself a “wimp”. I grew up in Chicago which can have pretty hideous winter weather, but add steep hills nd an abundance of tall fir trees, and then you have what we have experienced here.

Temperatures finally rose above the freezing mark this morning, but it’s still looking like another day, if not two, before the melt-off is complete. More rain and slowly rising temps tonight are creating more havoc in some areas. Early today when melting snow caused a nearby river to rise suddenly, a car was swept away into the fast-moving water, and lives were lost.

We’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost eight years. We’ve had longer winter storms in that time but none this intensely devastating. We’re thinking tonight of all of those still without power. Crews are coming in from out-of-state to help get things back to normal. It isn’t going to be easy.

“Unusual” Weather

We have a chance for snow tonight, even at sea level, for the 15th time during the past year, says the TV news. What you see above is pretty much how it looks outside today.

Most “unusual,” to say the least.

We’ve only lived in the Puget Sound area for five years, but we’ve not experienced a “normal” weather year yet.

Our son, Doug, and his wife, Jamie, will be at the Sounders game tonight at Qwest Field. If the white stuff does come, I wonder how you follow the soccer ball in it?

It’s Over! (Till Next Time)

Well, the snow is over. But only, I suppose, until it decides to return.

The photo above is basically the same view from my office window as the one in the previous post. Of course the difference is obvious. Today we are enjoying beautiful sunshine and the temp could get up to just about 50 degrees. Woohoo!

Sorry, you California friends (who are in the midst of a monster storm off the Pacific). Turnabout is fair play.

Plus, it’s a holiday. However, not everyone is off work. Enjoy it if you are. Hmmm… wonder if it’s time to check the fishing reports.

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

This is what it looks like right now from my office window. Click on the pic for full effect.

Just goes to show, “it ain’t over till it’s over”.

The Snow Is Finally Gone – For Good, We Hope

Photo at left is what it's looked like around here for most of the past three weeks. Note how the weight of the snow made the tree branches droop. At right is what it looks like today. Woohoo, the snow has melted. For now. You can click on each photo for larger, more detailed images.

I had forgotten what it was like to be able to drive down our driveway and back up again in a normal manner. Controlled, accelerating, fish-tailing skids have been the routine lately.

The weather forecast is for “warmer than normal” temps for the next week or so. We’ll see.


P.S. 2:30 pm UPDATE: Well, yes, the snow is gone, but with the warmer temps, the ferocious winds associated with dramatically changing weather fronts came right up Agate Passage out in front of us. Trees are going down in the area like matchsticks, many weakened from heavy snow loads, I assume. We just got our power back after said winds knocked down a big conifer nearby. This resulted in our SIXTH power outage since December 14. Fortunately, this one lasted only a bit more than an hour. I think we've had "our share" for a time.

More Snow Overnight & Still Snowed In

Well, you can compare the photo below of our deck table and chair with yesterday’s pic in the previous post, and the difference is what was added last night. It’s pushing 15” deep there on the chair seat.


It all happened overnight while our house was dark and rapidly losing heat. We had a power failure at about 7:00 last night (during the football game, arrrgh) and it lasted till just after 6:00 this morning. That made three outages for us yesterday; but the first two were “only” about an hour and a half each. The gas fireplace really helped, but it’s no furnace.

What was interesting was that only about 400 homes in our immediate area were affected; we could see lights across the water on the Poulsbo side the whole time. The power company said a snow-laden tree had fallen across a transmission line of some sort.

Above photo shows the homes across Agate Passage whose lights we were able to see all night from our darkened home. That’s the Agate Pass navigation buoy at the lower center right. Of course the always-moving sea water never freezes. Click on the photo(s) for a larger image.

I thought the photo above (taken by Gregg, I think) is very pretty and wintery. It is Gregg and Elaine’s Oregon home just as night is falling and the lights are beginning to show. At right is our 11-year-old granddaughter, Hayley, ice skating yesterday on the frozen street in front of their house.

I lived in Chicago until well into my teens, and I’m not sure we experienced any winters there that were any more dramatic than this.

Hope all is well where you are.

Snowed In Again, But It’s A Winter Wonderland

Last Sunday we missed our 3-1/2 month-old grandson’s Sunday School program stage debut due to snow and ice around our home and over the entire region, and today we’re snowed in again. Deeply snowed in.

But it’s a Pacific Northwest winter wonderland, as you can see by the view above from our front door. Check the difference in the amount of snow on our outside light post fixture in this photo vs. that in the Dec. 14 post photo. Nothing – and I mean nothing – is moving outdoors in our hillside neighborhood. A few wild animal tracks in the backyard are the only signs of life. And the tracks are probably those of Gus, our neighborhood watch dog.

As you can see above, it would be insanity to aim a 2-ton wheeled machine down our steep driveway. It could be a while before this melts

Church services this morning, in most cases, appear to have been cancelled. I’m still not sure if ours were actually suspended, but there was no way we could get out to attend. Our son Gregg said they had to cancel their services in Oregon due to icy conditions exacerbating the snowy road surfaces.

The patio furniture and deck railings, above, have at least eight inches of snow, with more like 12” on the edge of the table. Don’t think we’ll have a brunch out there today. Click on any photo for a detailed, larger image.

Looks like this is one of those days when we can just sit in front of the new gas fireplace we put in this past fall and maybe watch some TV football - or perhaps one of those sappy Christmas dramas Kay Lynne loves. At the same time, we’ll also keep one eye on the incredibly beautiful white winter panorama that materialized significantly over the past 12 hours. Stay safe wherever you are during these chilly days.

More Dumps

Well, we got dumped on again today – and in more ways than one. Most of it, however, is related to just living in the cold, wintery Northwest. Our Cav Buddy is even wearing his football sweater during the cold spell.

The truth is, it hasn’t exactly been an upbeat week. You can see in the last post how the week started. Very disappointingly.

So today, a) we got dumped on with some more snow, b) the temps are in the 20’s, c) our main car sits in the repair shop still undiagnosed (coolant leak somewhere in the heating system behind the firewall), d) the back-up car sits in the garage with a dead battery (from non-use and freezing temps), and e) as the weekend approaches, more snow and icy temps are forecasted, and we not only have church and other responsibilities, but for the time, we are carless.

Not to worry, though; we did get the last of our Christmas letters in our mailmaid’s truck this afternoon. And, as Kay Lynne and I were mentioning at dinner, if this is what is to be, we are relatively fortunate. “Things” and circumstances can be handled. We need to be thankful we have a warm place to sleep and some food in the fridge. And a totally loyal Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who cuddles closely and keeps our feet warm.

Many (more this year) are out in the weather or, hopefully, at least seeking respite from the cold in shelters. For the first time in my lifetime I am seeing a look of fear in people’s eyes regarding what may happen.

My dad told me about the long food lines during the great depression of the early 1930’s, but it was always somewhat removed because I had no contact with it. Now we are seeing it first hand. The lines are increasing dramatically at food centers like Fishline where Kay Lynne volunteers weekly and at Helpline here in town and at our church where we have a supply of canned goods for those in need.

And, we think, by remembering those less fortunate and helping them as possible, it is very likely that our little misadventures will soon fade away.

Two more quick things: 1) it’s only a week till Christmas, and 2) tomorrow, had my father lived this long, would have been his 102nd birthday (maybe 103rd, depending on how you interpret historical dates and data).

Iced In & Bummed Out

This was the view this morning looking out from our front door. And, unfortunately for us, the snow and ice beneath kept us from going to Seattle to see our grandson Nathan portray baby Jesus in their church Sunday School Program Nativity scene.

Consequently, we’re quite bummed out.

The early morning forecasts, as it turned out, were quite a bit more ominous than what actually came about. Or at least it seemed that way. The early prediction for Seattle streets to remain as “ice-under-packed-snow” for the whole day was the backbreaker for us.

As the day has gone on, however, the temps have risen to very near or actually at the freezing point, and with traffic activity, it appears most streets are fine. Whether they were ok at 10:00 this morning I suppose will remain a mystery. And whether or not our cautious approach was the prudent action is now moot.

In our younger days, we’d have just gone out, weather notwithstanding. But running into difficulty now that we are older (like skidding the car into a ditch on an icy slope because perceptions and reaction times aren’t what they used to be) can easily exacerbate into more serious issues.

Still, this old grandpa will probably grouse for most of the day. In spite of grandma’s assurances that we made the best decision we could based on what we knew at 7:00 this cold and icy morning.