Monday, January 17, 2022

FROZEN TUNDRA



I'm not in the mood to be poetic, artistic, or philosophically thoughtful. I'm freezing my ass off and fervently praying that there won't be a power outage.

The power lines are covered with ice and looming dangerously low. Everything outside is heavily blanketed with snow. It is unnervingly quiet - no critters, no birds, no sign of discernible life, except for thick white puffs of my frosty breath and the rude crunch of ice under my work boots.

Old Man Winter has pulverized rural Tennessee.

Inside the flimsy walls of my house, it's (miraculously) warm enough. My furnace still isn't working properly , but several space heaters are doing the job.
My two cats are sleeping on my bed next to a heater. I have the kitchen blocked off from the rest of the horrendously frigid house and it's quite cozy........as long as the power stays on.....
It's late afternoon and about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit).

This winter storm was supposed to have arrived on Saturday but was late.
Icy rain on Saturday night.
Sunday morning the ice vanished and there was torrential rain. I seriously doubted if snow would ever come.

Then, before noon, the temperature dropped drastically and heavy globs of wet snow began to fall. It snowed heavily all afternoon and into the night.

That's all I need to tell.
Hence forth, photos will prevail.

Sunday morning was bleak with heavy rain. These trees overlook the neighboring cow pasture.

Rain turned to snow around noon and the backyard forest was turning white.
 
Monday morning (that's today) - it's suddenly a winter wonderland!

View from the front porch.





And numerous glimpses from the back "yard" (below) - all photos taken from the back porch


 



 






11 comments:

  1. Winter Wonderland indeed! Seems like there is always a "price" to pay for beauty. As much as I HATE winter, the season of death and darkness, it always amazes me how lovely the snow looks from my living room window.

    Stay warm and safe with your kitties!

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  2. Much the same here! I awoke to snow ice and tree limbs littered the yard and gardens. But your pictures are so stunning. Something so pretty peaceful and tranquil about snow covered trees.

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  3. Go figure, you live in TN and get a winter wonderland, Jon, while in this part of southern NH, snow turned to rain. The heavy rain washed away the snow, temps rose to high 30s and we had afternoon sun. 😢 about the in house frigid temps, but daresay the winter scenics were lovely.

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  4. I'm so sorry, Jon. Hardly the Zhivago-esque Wonderland portrayed on the big screen. However, that image with the porch swing is awesome!

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  5. Looks beautiful...but I know how cold it can be. I hope you and the furbabies stay warm and safe. :)

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  6. You have to admit Jon the pictures of the snow laden trees around your home are beautiful. In an odd way surreal. I'm glad you have heat and you and your cats are warm and cozy in your retreat from civilization. I wonder where all the forest creatures go during weather like this. I bet more than a few of them are in crevices in your house.
    Stay safe and warm Jon!
    Ron

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  7. Thinking of you Jon... hope you are warm, well and safe?

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  8. So cold! at least our furnace is working here. But it is seriously cold in Iowa as well. (-7 this morning) lucky we have 4 cats to keep us warm.... Haha... ( kind of a joke, because they hog the heaters too...) Stay warm! Make more stew....

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  9. Hey, cowboy! I betcha Texas ain't looking so bad now, huh? HA

    I've been thinking about you. I'm really glad you've got some space heaters to make things a little more comfortable for you. I remember how much you suffered the past few years.

    We even got some snow here last week. Enough for me to go outside to make an anatomically correct snowman. (Well, woman, actually.) Right now, all that's left of her is a grapefruit-sized snowball, but we may get some more snow this weekend. s

    Take care of yourself, and even though I'm not a "frequent flyer" on FB anymore, know that I still think of you and the other friends I've made here over the years. Sending you a big fat virtual hug. No elbow bumps will do.

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  10. This is beautiful, but so sombre. WIth all that wood it seems a shame that you cannot use some of it to keep warm. Fingers crossed for you that there are no outages.

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  11. Those photos really nail the season. WINTER from your back porch is indeed a wonderland. so pretty. i'm glad the space heaters and kitties are keeping you warm and toasty. wish my kitties were still around to stave off the mice that found my house after 36 years of not being here.

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