Groundhog Blizzard
WOW, talk about a snow storm. Beginning on January 31st with light snow falling all day, the storm continued through February 1st and 2nd. Gardens at Waters East picked up 19.7 inches of snow. This storm was not part of the “big” storm that affected so much of the United States over those days. That storm went south of this area and stretched across so many states.
This storm came in off of northern Lake Michigan as that “big” storm was moving along south of the lake. The winds here were at a sustained 30-35 miles an hour; hour after hour after hour, with gust up to 50 miles an hour. Snow piled up and up and up. It then blew away at times only to build up again. The “sculptures” formed by the advancing then retreating snows were beautiful.
As was true for the “big” storm far south of Gardens at Waters East, everything also came to a standstill in this area; stores were closed, schools closed, business closed, roads closed. It really was too dangerous to venture out. There were plenty of warnings issued to stay home.
These photos can only give a hint of the intensity of this storm.
It is hard to capture the feel of the wind and the swirls of the snow.
Whiteout conditions existed throughout the days.
On the good side; the increased depth of the snow from this storm is great for the Gardens at Waters East. Not only does the snow ensure more moisture in the soil come Spring, but the layer of snow acts as an insulation over the soil so that the roots are protected from any freezing and thawing that would occur on sunny days. Such thawing and refreezing again and again, causes much root damage in this zone. So the storm is not all bad news!
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I've been enjoying the pictures of your garden. And I'm so impressed with the day lilies that you have hybridized. I have a fondness for pink day lilies!
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job of capturing the wind and feel of the storm. Just the fact there was a whiteout does it for me. I so hope you are able to stay home and stay warm!
ReplyDeleteamazing! it was quite a storm. hope you are ok too.
ReplyDeleteYou managed to make the big snow look lovely indeed. I'm glad it missed us here in central Ohio, instead we had an ice storm! The gazing ball you referred to was my penny ball, made by gluing pennies to an old bowling ball. It looks lovely in the garden! Here is the post where I feature it.
ReplyDeletehttp://lifewithrobin.blogspot.com/2010/08/weve-been-busy.html
Yikes! That's a lot of snow but now you're safe (as evidence by your continued posting) and you've found your silver lining of insulation and soil moisture.
ReplyDelete