Snowshoeing Anyone?

A blanket of fresh snow covers Mount Hood Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010, as seen from Portland, Ore.

Photo: Rick Bowmer / AP

Crunching Footsteps

"Is that...?" "Hey, it's snowing!" "It's really coming down." "Yeah, but it never sticks." "I know."
This was the conversation yesterday afternoon standing in my kitchen with my friend Leah looking out the picture window. A couple of hours later, there were inches of snow. Kids were sledding down my street. I ended up walking to a party I went to last night - couldn't drive in the stuff. It was actually quite beautiful. The side streets were pretty quiet and you could hear the crunch of your feet in the snow. It was already starting to melt when I left the party a few hours later. These pictures were taken this morning of what was left. When I went out today, there were some sad, melting snowmen sort of tilting over, their heads really small. Tonight it's mostly gone.

Portland or...

Minnetonka?

Snuggy Dog

Kana's gotten better - over the course of this week - at dealing with the snow and cold outside. She seems to get that the coat I put on her before we go out keeps her warm and dry. And she's figured out how to walk on the icy parts: either take little steps or run to the other side. The above picture is how Kana's dealing with the cold outside inside. She's snuggled up against the radiator and she's got her blankie tucked up under her chins. She was snoring away when I took this shot. Spoiled? Naaaaaa.

Crafty Wonderland/Winter Wonderland

This is the equivalent of an all-out blizzard in Portland. The picture on the left is Sunday morning. It had been snowing for maybe an hour. On the right is Monday morning. The storm has moved on and there's a crystal blue sky. It's pretty cold out right now (for PDX), in the 20s, and the snow is either icy or crunchy. The city has shut down: schools are closed, people are home from work, no one's out. I'm liking it. I like that we get to live with a bit of snow (I threw a snowball at some boys this morning...) for a few days and then it goes away. It's not here for months. It's pretty for a couple of days.

For Kana, the jury is still out on this snow stuff.

Unfortunately, this winter wonderland killed Crafty Wonderland. And for that it's not so pretty.

It's Just Wrong.

It's predicted that it's going to SNOW here in Portland tomorrow. April 19th. Mid-April. Snow. Wrong, I tell you. It's just wrong.

Ready. For. Spring.

It's nearly April and I woke up this morning to it snowing. And yesterday it was alternately freezing, sunny, hailing (twice), cloudy and drizzly. What's up with that? I like living in a place that gets all the seasons, I just don't need to have them all in one day. All the daffodils have bloomed. Hell, many of them have come and gone already. Spring sprang and now it's winter again. Sixty-five and sunny, that's all I'm asking. Spring is just toying with my emotions.