Sunday, October 4, 2009

Snow body's business?


It had been my intention, as I stated in yesterday's post, to show some Autumn pictures I took on Saturday near Bend, Oregon, but it has been a strange day, to say the least. After a week of temperatures in the upper 80's, well above the average for this date of 74 degrees, a Winter storm blasted in, dumping some locations with over 7 inches of snow. Many of the deciduous trees, still laden with bright green leaves, could not endure the weight of all that white stuff and collapsed, like this unfortunate aspen on my front lawn. Driving was amazing. There were no sand trucks to be seen and, even some of the cameras on the mountain passes, designed to show hazardous conditions, weren't operational yet. Tomorrow there will be chaos at the tire centers for mounting and balancing. There will be a run on chains, scrapers, gloves, battery chargers, and stocking caps. People will recall the taste of a hot rum and begin to jabber about new skis, snowboards and expensive lift tickets. The kayak's days are numbered and is soon to be stashed again in the garage rafters above the fishing gear and golf clubs.
Amidst the excitement of the day, I consulted the weather report. A massive warming trend with mild days are predicted. Maybe a person ought not be too hasty. Sandals, shorts, and t-shirts for me, that's my mantra. I love Winter, but not yet. December is soon enough.

9 comments:

tapirgal said...

This is amazing. I wish I'd been there to see it. I love a good snowstorm, especially if I'm not actually too cold. But, on October 4th? Obviously, nobody was prepared for this. Where are the fall leaves? I'll bet most of the trees are still green! I love the second photo, alhough I'm sure you don't love losing your tree.

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Amazing and beautiful !! This is so lovely and fantastic !!Unseen Rajasthan

Lowell said...

Methinks a taste of the future for Bend...

Too early, though, like you said...strange weather all over...

I'm still complaining about the heat!
But it was only 88 yesterday...

B SQUARED said...

The weather must be strange everywhere. Our summer in Mich. Began in September. I fear winter may not be too far off. Time to head south.

Small City Scenes said...

Crazy weather, eh? It will soon be gone and will be forgotten until next time. LOL MB

Sylvia K said...

I love snow, but not this early! Maybe that's just the weather man saying, "Ha ha, Gotcha!"

Have a great week, Lee.

Sylvia

Martha Z said...

I do remember when we lived in the Eastern Sierra that a winter storm around the time of the equinox was common and then followed by warm weather.

cieldequimper said...

Good grief, I thought you had dug out a photo of last winter! Reminds me of skidding in WA on my first ever drive through snow. Ughh. It *is* a tad too early though so the weather forecast sounds good.

SquirrelQueen said...

Wow, that is amazing. We had rain on Saturday here in Walla Walla and snow in the higher elevations on the Blue Mountains. I didn't know about your snow.