Snow and Ice and All Things Nice

A huge winter storm took the US by - well - storm last week, causing chaos in those parts of the country more familiar with sunstroke than snowploughs. While snow fell only once, consistent low temperatures created a thick layer of ice, and residents were urged to stay off the streets as much as possible.

For a whole week, we drove nowhere, and what fun we had! Snowmen, snowballs, melted maple syrup over shaved ice, frozen fingers, hot chocolate, excavating ice-entombed treasures... but most of all sliding.

Sliding on our fronts, on our backs, on (off) our feet, on cardboard, on plastic, in the laundry basket, down the driveway, down the hill in the park, skating across the patio and even on the grass. The strange white stillness broken by giggles of delight.

White Christmas

CHRISTMAS Day was full of surprises! At the end of our beds, stockings were bulging with goodies. In the living room, Baby Jesus had arrived in the manger and all the people and animals of the nativity gathered around to greet him. The snacks left out for Father Christmas and his reindeer were gone. Under the tree lay many gifts of love. We welcomed two unexpected friends to our Christmas table. Then, as the afternoon light started to dwindle, snow began to fall! This was a historic occasion - the first snow on Christmas Day in Georgia since 1882 - and had to be celebrated. While some members of our party kept the coals aglow at home, the rest gathered up coats and hats and headed out to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

By evening the snow had settled in dry areas, and was still there on Boxing Day. Not quite enough for real snow play, it still made for a beautiful landscape and a teeny tiny snowman.

Birds, Birds, Everywhere

WE have gradually developed a full buffet for birds in our back garden with a tray feeder, two upright feeders, a suet feeder, several pinecone feeders and a special sock feeder of thistle seed for finches. And they come! So far, we've seen:

• Northern Cardinals (tray feeder)
• White-Breasted Nuthatches (most frequent visitors to the pinecone feeder, also suet feeder)
• Pine Warbler (pinecone feeder - infrequent)
• Red-Breasted Woodpecker (upright feeder)
• House Finch (upright feeder)
• Downy Woodpecker (suet feeder)
• Mourning Doves (ground, tray feeder and they even try to balance on the suet feeder - very funny)
• Chickadees (upright feeder - infrequent)
• Carolina Wren (ground underneath)
• Dark-Eyed Junco (ground underneath)
• Song Sparrow (ground underneath)
• Blue Jays (ground underneath)
• Eastern Towhee (ground)
• Eastern Bluebird (suet and upright feeders)

We also see on the lawn and flower beds American Robins, Thrashers, and now and again great flocks of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Starlings. We like to sit at the back door and just watch. Sometimes we try to draw them...mostly we just watch.

Just Kidding - I'm Back

Winter's back! Just when we were dusting off our 'welcome to spring' songs, the day grew greyer and greyer and all of a sudden... snow! Snow here in the south is as a rule not very impressive; however this time it put on a pretty good show. Of course all plans for the day were immediately shelved and instead on went the rain suits and boots. The afternoon was spent mostly outside, coming in just for warm apple juice, hot chocolate and snacks. Knowing that it may be gone the next day, we wanted to make the most of every snowflake. So in the evening, we went for a moonlit adventure (well there was no moon, but it was dark) and took a walk, acting out Ezra Jack Keats' A Snowy Day as we went:

"First he walked with his feet out like this.

Then he walked with his feet in like this.

Then he found something that made a third track. It was a stick.

A stick that was just right for beating a tree.

Plop! A lump of snow landed on his head."

Is It Spring Already?

ON a lovely sunny afternoon, we noticed tiny pieces of evidence of Spring. We went on a 'shoot hunt' in the garden to see how many new shoots we could see, and were amazed.

We found daffodils, tulips, day lilies, garlic/onions, aliums, hostas and some mystery bulbs where I couldn't remember what we'd planted.

A little brown bulb went to sleep in the ground

In his little brown nightie he slept very sound

Old Winter he roared and raged overhead

But the bulb didn't even turn over in bed

When Spring came laughing over the lea

With finger to lip, just as soft as can be

The little brown bulb, he lifted his head

Slipped out of his nightie and sprang out of bed!

Wintry Designs

Spellbinding patterns
Only now may be seen
Stripped of distraction
From red, gold and green.

Some were there all along
Lying silent below
Awaiting their turn
Their beauty to show.

Others wait for the cold
For their silent return
Heralds of time
Continuing on.

Steadfast as blossoms
Or colours of fall
These wintry designs
Give comfort to all.

The Great Blue

ATLANTA'S largest bird is the Great Blue Heron. We were delighted to see one quite close up two days in a row! The first followed us around a lake, dipping with its beak every now and again for something tasty, then always flying off just at the moment we got close enough for a really good photo. The second was hunkered down, its feathers all fluffed up, trying to keep warm in ridiculously frigid temperatures. I'm quite sure that given the choice we had - stay inside in the heated house or go out for a walk by a lake - it would have made a more sensible choice than we did.

Great blue herons stand over one metre tall and have a wingspan of almost two metres. It is a noble looking creature, though its facial markings make it appear to be frowning. In the second photo you can see how the bird has fluffed up its feathers. This is a bird's answer to layering. It has multiple layers of feathers, and by fluffing them, air is trapped between the layers generating warmth for its body. Notice also the beard in the second shot which is a feature of mature males.

The Thaw

RUSHING water overhead
Journeying from roof to earth
Along the gutter, down the pipe
Streaming ever onward.

A different pace where no sun shines
Clinging to height and form
Yet fading more with every hour
The snowman bids farewell.

A Snow Day

WELL so much for welcoming the Spring! Our camping trip this weekend was postponed due to an ominous weather forecast, and sure enough March 1st brought rain, then sleet, and finally a rare few inches of snow. Woohoo! On with the boots and gloves and we were out making footprints, tasting snowflakes, watching them melt on our clothes and making a snowman. The garden was picture-perfect, with more than a light dusting on branch, leaf and bench. So much fun to be had.

Snowflakes
(to the tune of "twinkle, twinkle little star")

Snowflakes, snowflakes falling down,

On the trees and on the ground.

I will build a man of snow,

Tall black hat and eyes of coal,

If the sun comes out today,

I will watch you melt away!

Ice Hike

NATURALLY we had to pick a day of near-freezing temperatures and after overnight rain to take a trip to Stone Mountain Park. Not that the cold per se was a problem; instead it was our chosen walking route, which took us around the bottom of the mountain and across wide expanses of exposed granite. Correction - exposed ice.

This was a sight we hadn't expected, and was really quite wonderful! Large but thin sheets of ice covered the smooth rock, melting from the inside out and causing little rivulets of water and air bubbles to trickle down beneath the icy cover. Emma soon discovered that while 'ice skating' on her feet was fun, sliding down on her bottom was way more exciting, and we quickly gave up trying to keep her dry. Some parts of the ice could be easily cracked with a light step, others required stomping or stabbing with a stick.

The steeper sections presented quite a puzzle finding the safest way to cross, and it was a toss-up who was in the trickier situation: Thomas with his slippery trainers (sneakers), dog on a lead and wobbly pre-schooler, or me with sensible hiking boots but the baby obscuring my view to the front and below and backpack on my back. We have the best ideas!! We hopped our way across, picking the safest path on moss and lichen-covered rock to avoid the slippy sections. Hmm, living organisms must be warmer than dead plant material, since there were plenty of fallen leaves and particularly pine needles frozen into the ice, but no living plants. Soon we arrived at the woods, where it was instantly warmer and the perfect picnic spot appeared.

Photo by Brett Rogers