Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Elf School was on a two-hour delay

If your weather wasn't bad yesterday, then your weather must be bad today. There's no escaping this storm.

It started out as wind and rain in my neck of nowhere, then turned to wind and sleet, then wind and snow.

Did I mention it was windy?



From her window on the world, Smooch was just as nervous as I was that the big weather might be more than we could handle. When the weatherman says things like sustained 50 mph winds...gusts up to 65...the potential for damaging winds..., we tend to get a little concerned.



By mid-morning, the weather had changed to wind and sun. Hank hunkered down against a tree, Lyle chose a sunny spot in front of the barn, and I braved the storm to take pictures...out the window of my toasty warm house.



George and Alan huddled in their stall while the snow swirled every which way.



Until I moved to New Mexico, I didn't know it was possible to be in a blizzard while the sun is shining. There's even a name for it – ground blizzard. Even though it's not snowing at the moment, the wind picks up all the snow that's on the ground and throws it in your face so you can't see.



It's impossible to measure how much snow actually fell here yesterday, since most of it landed in the next county.



Today's forecast is for mostly sunny skies, a high of 43 and 10 mph winds. The snow will melt, and I'll be able to get to all the chores that got postponed yesterday. The elves and I have some catching up to do – only 16 more training days until Christmas.

23 comments:

  1. I never imagined that you would have such weather! Beautiful pictures, but my gosh that looks cold.

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  2. You got fantastic photos, Linda! Smooch looks vey concern looking to out there.
    I can feel that it's very cold indeed.

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  3. Getting the same but more in Minnesota today. I need a burro bunker myself. Where does Deets hide?

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  4. Stay warm. Where is Deets? I have enough to worry about without worrying about Deets.....lol. I'll bet he's in the burro bunker somewhere.

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  5. Not to worry - Deets has the warmest room of all - he's nestled among 300-some hay bales in the hay barn.

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  6. Beautiful pics. I had no idea New Mexico had mountains. I thought it was all flat and desert like. Funny you mentioned Ground Blizzard because on the news this morning the weather gal was explaining what a ground blizzard is. Yeah, where is Deets?

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  7. Absolutely gobsmacking beautiful!

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  8. Yep, same weather here in Colorado yesterday. That wind was fierce! Lucky you, getting up to 40s today. I think our prediction is for the 20s. Right now, as I type, it's -5!

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  9. Oh the weather was horrible here last night. North Central Alabama. Hurricane force winds, trees down, power out and then the tornado sirens came on..... ugh it was a long night.

    Your pictures are beautiful as always. :)

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  10. Okay, you have the "Bbbrrrrr" factor captured perfectly in your pictures.
    I hope it all calms down and gets back to something resembling normal soon.

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  11. I am shivering just reading your post. it is rain here :(

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  12. The bad thing in your neck of the woods is that the wind can travel for miles and miles. We at least do have the mountains fairly close for a wind break. We still get horrid winds and it usually is right in front of my drive way and the road drifts closed, just lovely!

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  13. We have been in Tucson for some repairs on the house here and the rains that came were unreal. I have seen a lot of Arizona thunderstorms over the years but that rain just dumped and the wind was not so great either. I am feeling bad that we are not in Oregon though as the cold up there has been worse than we expected for those who are taking care of the cattle and sheep. Makes me feel guilty but we were lucky we came down when we did with the water damage inside the kitchen cabinets. :( 'Tis the season to be jolly-- yeah right!

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  14. Oh my goodness - a ground blizzard? Never heard of such a thing! I can't believe your horses choose to stand outside in it. Brrrr. Interesting pictures with the blue sky and sun and then the clouds of snow making everything look like it's foggy.

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  15. I've been reading your blog for some time now and just love the antics of your pets! I think Deets is my favorite!

    Your pictures are beautiful! I have to ask, what kind of camera do you use?

    Thanks!

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  16. OMG -- it's gonna be balmy at your place today. I woke up to 10 degrees south of Seattle, WA (ya know, rainy Seattle?) We haven't seen a night above freezing for more than 2 weeks now.

    It's pretty and the manure balls pick up easy off the rubber mats...but my buckets are freezing and I'm gonna need to buy heated ones. grrrrr.

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  17. Oh boy. It does look pretty though. We've been experiencing Arctic air the last couple of weeks and they're (the infamous "They") predicting snow for the weekend. *sigh* I've been repeating my list of things I'm grateful for like a mantra lately: I'm so glad I have a warm, dry, safe place to live being chief among them.

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  18. Ground blizzards are common in Alberta, and are one of the things I don't miss! It's a beautiful day in southeastern British Columbia today.
    Love the concerned look on Smooch's face.

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  19. Nice to hear Deets is dry and warm, we just recently were adopted by a "mouser" who took up residence in our shed..a real feral cat, but haven't seen him since our blizzard...I think HE is in the neighbors barn with the hay bails, like Deets. I can't imagine how a cat can maneuver through these deep snow drifts or catch dinner for that matter. Who would come out of their holes?

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  20. aww it's snowing...like the shot of the dog

    A smile from SJ =)

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  21. Central Kentucky got wind and more wind. Dropping temps too.

    I like that George and Alan were tucked away in the burro hideout. The wind pulled open my storm door and scared Jag the cat. When the weather isn't evil he likes to catch sunbeams there. I quickly closed the wooden door too.

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  22. Very cool! I've never heard of a ground blizzard before! Good thing it blew by quickly. Back to school now!

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  23. THose winds are something else - I was flying home from DC and we were delayed an hour by a 180 mph head wind.

    Thanks for reminding me why I must stay South. I'm cold just thinking about that weather.

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