December Snow

Normally, we don't get snow in December, but this year is an exception.  Last week ushered in an Arctic cold-front that dropped temperatures down into the single digits and brought some snow as well.  We only got and inch or two, not really enough to cover all the grass, but it made for a pretty landscape.  Thankfully, we only got snow here in our part of Oklahoma.  The southern part of the state, along with northern Texas, got a lot of ice which has brought traffic to a stand-still in places, caused numerous wrecks and just made life miserable for folks trying to travel.

To make matters worse, the daily high temperatures have not gotten above freezing for almost a week, so the snow has not melted much to speak of.   This has led to a severe case of cabin fever for me!  So, I bundled up and ventured out.  Rubber boots were a necessity!

There were lots of tracks, like these bird tracks in the snow that drifted in under the carport.

There were also tracks from our cat.  I'm hoping the birds were alert and got out of her way.

I walked down to the deer feeder and found lots of deer tracks around it.  So, apparently, it is a popular hang-out for the local deer population.

There were icicles hanging from the roof of our small greenhouse.  

Venturing farther afield, I took this picture.  Looks pretty frigid, huh?

A couple of weeks ago, I turned the compost piles with the tractor.  One of them was so hot with decomposing matter that it was steaming.  The black plastic bag that Tom has in his hands is a bag of leaves he is getting ready to add to the compost.

We have lots of bags of leaves that we've collected to use in compost and for mulch this summer.  The contrast between the black bags and the white snow made for an interesting picture.

The compost pile above is also covered with snow, but you can bet that deep down in the center it is still pretty warm.

Speaking of warm, by this time my toes were cold and I had an icicle on my nose (not really). So, no more pictures, I'm going inside for a cup of hot chocolate!