Oklahoma Blizzard 2011

I woke up about 2:30 Tuesday morning and looked outside. There was no snow at that point. I woke up again about 4:30 and snow had started falling. About 9:15 on Tuesday morning this was what I saw outside our backdoor.

This morning AD took the camera outside. This is the drift that is on the backside of our home.

And here is a view of the drift from the other side. 

AD got the tractor out and cleared the driveway. Hopefully the road to the highway will be cleared soon!

Mikey stayed in his house (that's in the garage) most of Tuesday. AD kept trying to coax him out but he was snuggled down and warm and he was NOT coming out! ONLY when he ABSOLUTELY had business to take care of would he even stick his nose out the opening.

Today, he's had a great time running in the snow while AD is outside working.

The news reports that the official snowfall is supposed to be 13.5 inches in our area. I wonder how / where it's measured.  Of course we have drifts - you've seen that above but at our house, at least, we can see some (dead) grass in places. In fact for some strange reason there was no snow on our driveway and no snow on parts of the sidewalk to the front door. Go figure! Anyway, is there some sort of snow gauge similar to a rain gauge? Just wondering.

For those of you that are dealing with snow right now - stay warm and stay safe!

Open For Business

Last weekend AD and I purchased a couple of bird feeders and some food. AD set a shepherd's hook, filled the feeders and hung them up. Then we waited for the birds to come. We watched and we waited. No birds came.

I told AD maybe we should put out a sign saying "Free Food." He just rolled his eyes. Later that night I gave him some stale bread to tear up and throw over the fence thinking that might lure some birds close to the feeders. Still no birds came.


This morning I looked out to see Mikey and his friend, Cosmo, eating the bread that was still on the ground.

It's a nice, sunny day today. Still no birds.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week looks like this.

Maybe the birds will make their way to the feeders when the predicted ice and snow is on the ground.

We're Good Scouts

Back in the day I was a Brownie, later a Girl Scout and when Daughter was in elementary school I was a Girl Scout leader.

AD was a Boy Scout - not sure exactly what level - but I've heard rumors that his stint in the scouts lasted only as long as his first hike. Of course it could also be due to the fact that he grew up on military bases and there was quite a bit of moving around.

At any rate, I always thought the BOY Scouts owned the motto "Be Prepared." Recently I learned that it is also the GIRL Scout motto. Not sure how I missed that bit of information especially having been a Girl Scout leader.



The 7-day weather forecast for northeast Oklahoma looks like this. With the wind speeds that are predicted over the next couple of days we will be seeing (feeling) the wind chill at something like 18 to 25 degrees below zero.

Yesterday afternoon our weather radio sounded and warned of the extremely bitter cold conditions and possible precipitation our area will be experiencing later today and tomorrow.

This morning at 4a.m. the radio sounded again with the same warning.

And we're prepared -



Diesel fuel for the big generator should our electricity go out - CHECK!

The propane guy came yesterday, so full propane tank - CHECK!

Grocery shopping trip last night. Ingredients for soups and casseroles - CHECK!

Hot chocolate - CHECK!

Heated bed, blankets & clean sweaters (not shown) for the "inside" kids - CHECK!

Extra "insulation" for Mikey's house* - CHECK!

I think that about covers it. We former scouts are prepared!


*AD first put the old comforter over Mikey's house a few days ago - NOT covering the doorway because after all, Mikey is afraid of the dark.

Sometime over the past few days though Mikey has discovered he can pull the comforter down over his doorway to keep his house even more toasty warm. He's such a smart kid!

Guess he figures it's better to have the added warmth in the dark than to have his night light (although the light is still on just in case . . .)