Photographic Prognostication
The other day, I was thinking that it was almost time for our annual snowfall. I went back through my photos of the last few years, looked at the dates of the snowfalls, and determined that the snow would fall sometime between 1/20 and 2/1.
I promptly forgot about it. Yesterday, I looked at the forecast for Charlotte and saw that they were calling for a “Wintery Mix”. In general, this means snow and sleet. As I was riding along the highway yesterday morning, the electronic signage above the highway read: Anti-Icing operations underway. Slow moving traffic possible.
Usually, for whatever reason, the snow seems to skip us, but I was pretty sure that it was coming. After all, I do have four years of photographic data to back my assertion! How’s that for scientific?! I have proof!
And, so it started yesterday around 5:00. Snowflakes so light, so small that you needed a dark background to see them. My wife suggested that I had over to Blockbuster and grab a few movies. I liked the idea, but groaned to myself because I know this area and we all get the same idea at the same time. 
As I guessed, the line at Blockbuster was pretty darn long. Usually, I end up 2nd or 3rd in line, even if we go by there on a Friday night. Not yesterday. The aisles were crowded and I was number 12 in line. Sigh.
Having successfully secured the movies, making a quick stop at CVS, I headed back home. It was now snowing in earnest and was a little bit disorienting. It has been a while since I’d driven in snow. It wasn’t sticking to the ground, but it was coming down rather fast and blowing directly towards the car. All those little flakes flying towards the windshield were distracting. Rookie!
The wife and I popped in one of the movies and settled down to watch it. Outside, it continued to snow, some of which was now sticking to the grass. In short order, Vera was asleep. I was left watching one of the worst movies that I’d seen in some time! The name of the movie is Fragments, staring Forrest Whitaker. Do yourself a favor … skip it!
So, off to bed we went. At about 3:00 AM this morning, I heard what sounded like an insistent tapping on the window. At first, in the fogginess of my sleep, I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then it came to me, sleet. I got up, looked out of the window and everything was covered in white. Nice, I thought. Hobbs will enjoy that tomorrow morning.
When I awoke at 7:45 this morning, the first thing that we did, Hobbs and I, was to go outside and have a look. It’s hard to say what his favorite things are, as he enjoys so many things that involve running freely. There were no birds to chase, nor salt water to sample, but there was plenty of room to run. As a matter of fact, he took off on one of his adventures and went down the street and around the corner, but he was easy enough to find. Foot prints! So, I quickly forgave him this ‘adventure’.
Now, as I write this, he’s lying on my lap, snoring softly. Too bad I can’t take a picture of it, but I’ll just have to enjoy the moment.
Where I live, we usually get our week of snow around this time of the year, but this year…. It’s been minus degrees and snow since a few days before Christmas. Pretty incredible. You have certainly had your share on your side of the Atlantic sea, too, so if you (or Hobbs) is lucky, it will last more than a day.
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Paul Reply:
January 30th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Well, the sleet continues to fall and the expected high today is 28° F, or about -2 ° C. Tomorrow, by about 3:00 PM, it should get above freezing. Just in time for me to head back to Charleston. So, Hobbs and I will certainly have another adventure and I intend to go out and shoot some B&W film today, too, without Hobbs!
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The joy of snow… aptly captured. Sometimes it really feels as if you have to be either a child or a dog to enjoy winter to its fullest extent!
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We had 17 days straight of snow in early January (not much each day, but some measurable accumulation every day for 17 straight days) and then a warming snap. Just as almost all the snow was melted, the temperature dropped again and we got a couple inches and the temp has stayed below freezing (we’re at about 17 degree F as I write this). This weather is a very typical Pittsburgh January.
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It looks like Hobbs was indeed having a grand time in the snow…good shots.
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Great photos of Hobbs, looks like he is a handful and having a ball.
Weather is really warm here due to El Nino, pretty strange to have it in the 50′s everyday for this time of year.
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Wonderful images of Hobbs enjoying life! We are cold here in Ohio but the sun is shinning and clear blue skies this morning. Enjoy the rest of your weekend
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I can always count on your shots of Hobbs bringing a smile to my face Paul.
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Paul Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 11:56 am
Thanks, Mark. He is a funny kind of guy and quite entertaining. I think that he looks like jackrabbit in the first shot.
Even though he’s 10 years old, he still has a lot of vitality!
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Cuz, I have not seen snow like what we got here on the Middle Peninsula of Virginia since I lived in Ohio. We’ve never had this much snow in both TN and VA in one falling. We were snowed in for three days and I am still snowed in as my husband’s vehicle can’t make it out and he took mine this morning. My dog loves it too. He is having fun out there, but he’s sinking in deep.
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Paul Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Well our snow was nothing to sink in. It was 3 inches at most and most of it, that was not in the shade, was gone by Sunday afternoon. I heard that downtown many of the parking lots were still iced over and had to be closed. Tony got an extra day out of school because the back roads near the school were still icy on Monday.
I’d like to see some pretty deep snow, perhaps 8 – 10 inches, just once every so many years.
I know that it won’t happen in Charleston, though. Last recorded snowfall here was around 1999 where they recorded a trace of snow … no accumulation.
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