February 2012 Snowstorm

Before we get to the snow, a quick update on the flowering succulent. Nearly all the flowers are open, with only a few still wrapped up on themselves.  Luck is with us . . . the original flowers are holding on strong.  A few more, and it will be a complete bloom.

Just a few more, and it'll be a complete bloom

This is the next bunch coming in into its own.

One more shot at the originals.

February decided to open with a bang . . . a serious snow event for the area.  Except, it was not the area; it was my area, specifically Monument Hill.  We live on what is known as the Palmer Divide.  There is a brief Wikipedia entry on it, and the local historical society gives a brief history of the area.

While it was still snowing, before the walkway was cleared off. Shot through the window and the screen.

What it means is that we typically get more snow than the surrounding areas.  We can go down Monument Hill into Monument, and there will be less snow there.  Go a few miles farther South, and there may just be a dusting.

Just like the last snowstorm, the birdbath looks like a giant cake. A frosted cake . . . I slay me somtimes.

We got 15-18 inch on Friday, and another 4-6 inches on Saturday.  These pictures were taken Saturday, February 4th.  To the right are the remnants of the flowers of the Bluebeard Shrub.  I usually cut them down, but I like how they look, and decided to leave it be.

I like how they look in the winter

The walkway to our front door

I used the snowblower for the street, but I shoveled the drive by hand. I need some exercise since I am off racquetball for a few weeks while my shoulder recovers from something or other.  Wait . . . whaaat?  

The street after I done took care of it, but good!

The side of the house . . . deep snow drift, and the snow I shoveled forming mini-avalanches down the slope.

The West view of the street

 

I blew a lot of snow off the street and into the yard.

Normally I cut all the flowering plants down, but this year a left a few.  This next picture is os what remains of our white Balloon Flowers.

These are the remnants of our white Balloon Flowers plant

And these are the Cone Flowers I left standing.  Supposedly birds eat the seeds in the winter.  I’ve never seen a bird anywhere near the cone flowers.

Two Cone Flowers poking through the snowdrift.

 I just wrote about panoramas . . . this is a panorama of the front entrance to my house.  Six (6) shots in portrait mode stitched in Photoshop, and then post-processed in Lightroom.

Six shots panorama

Another closeup of the Bluebeard Shrub flower . . . or what remains.

I mentioned the ridge in my neighbor yard.  Well, we have one as well.  It’s probably because the winds came from the NorthWest . . . or it’s magic.

The Ridge shot from the deck. It's actually longer, but I could not get a good shot of the whole thing.

Here are some ground-level shots.

Looks interesting, but it's difficult to photograph.

 

Difficult to get a sense of scale, but hopefully these help.

It’s a difficult feature to show well.  By the way, on the right you can see the heated birdbath . . . it would be nice if I would see a bird on there once in a while.

And that’s it . . . the February 3-4, 2012 winter storm.  Hope you enjoyed it.  I had a ball.

. . . but now I will have to wait for the snow to melt before I can find it again.