Yesterday I awoke to a blue sky! Hurrah! I quickly planned to shower and head out with the camera back to Long Pond Ironworks so I could re-do some of the snaps I took the other day that I was  not happy with. When I got out of the shower, what I had thought to be blue sky earlier in the morning turned out to be nothing more than a big blueish cloud and now the whole sky was overcast. More overcast than the day before. To add insult to injury it also started spitting snow! The nerve! I disgruntledly cast aside my little photography jaunt and took the dogs for a short ride in the truck instead.

(photo: Old Church door through the railing: Long Pond Ironworks)

That describes the world outside my windows today. And oh yes, please add in the word rain as well. At least it didn't turn out to be a big wind and rain storm as predicted, so we mostly slept blissfully without being wakened by wind whipping around the house, or by being aware of Alex's breathing and every little movement like we did the entire night the night before. You know, right, the watchful feeling when a dog is still feeling the effects of having been under anesthesia? This morning, like us, he's  …well … right as rain!

I am however feeling a little housebound. I am so ready for spring! Spring is such a sweet season here in New Jersey.

So ready to walk in the yard without putting on boots or some kind of overshoes or slipping and sliding my way around.

Ready to throw open the windows and hear sweet birdsong.

Ready to hang laundry on the line outside again instead of over the shower curtain rod in the guest bathroom.

Ready for the peepers to sing me to sleep at night.

Ready for the fireflies to light up the yard. (If you want a good laugh at me, follow the link!)

Ready for rides in Mia.

Ready to celebrate the pool opening.

READY.

But, I have to wait. After all, it is only the end of February. I am getting impatient!

Isn't it strange that the very season we longed for at its beginning with its need for cozy wood fires, warm jackets and gloves, watching  movies, reading, jigsaw puzzling and comfort food is the very same one we are so eager to be rid of now. Thank goodness for the four seasons!

(photo: Abandoned House: Skylands) I liked how the wall was comprised of two different kinds of haphazard stone, as if there was a huge hole (or garage under the house?) that they filled in. I found the textures and colors interesting.

It seems like that's about all we did this weekend: eat! The weather on Saturday was sleety/rainy/windy/not nice. I am ready for spring! The snow we have left on the ground is now the consistency of snowcones and very slippery. Ugh. We kept a fire going in the wood stove all day to take the damp chill off. It's hard to imagine that last year we had crocus coming up two weeks from now and we were driving around in Mia with the top down. I don't think that's going to happen this year. Even harder to imagine is swimming in the pool. Right now it's covered with a layer of slushy ice. 

While we were housebound on Saturday, Rick baked bread (above) and we made Coq au Vin. Well, it was really Poulet au Vin if you want to get technically correct. Good food for a still-winter day. Here is the chicken as it came out of its marinade of red wine before cooking, making it look like it has freckles.

We caught up on our TiVo'd shows and went through our closets. We now have bags and bags of clothes going to Goodwill. I went through my bookcase by the computer and took out all the manuals on outdated computer programs--they are scheduled for the recycle bin on Wednesday. It feels good to get rid of things that are just useless clutter. 

Sunday was a nicer day temperature-wise and we even managed a walk down the road with the dogs. Lunch was one of my all-time favorites: Salad Lyonnaise. We used to eat these all the time when we lived in France. The Lyonnaise part of its name comes from the city of Lyon which was close to where we lived. Rick has mastered the perfect poaching of the eggs. Delicious. (We used the homemade bread for the croutons.)

My first amaryllis to bloom is now on its second stalk of blooms. This one only has two huge flowers just like the last one. I am pleased to report that the second amaryllis, which is only two years old, has a hefty flower stalk and is also about to bloom as well (I suspect more than two flowers inside), and even more surprising, the oldest one has a bud poking up from the bulb. This will mark its sixth consecutive year of blooming. Wow, I am thrilled!

Alex, our oldest dog had minor surgery today to remove a nasty little tumor on his butt that looked like a hemorrhoid which was causing problems. According to the vet, this kind of tumor is widespread in older intact male dogs and most of them are benign. We decided to do a biopsy just for peace of mind but we are not expecting it to be anything other than what it appears to be. Poor dog is going to have a little trouble with sitting for a while. But we are glad to have it off since it was smelly and trying to keep him clean back there would cause the darned thing to bleed. I'm sure he's glad to be rid of it too. Be gone you nasty thing! He's resting comfortably at the vet's right now and I can pick him up just before dinner. Rick recently did a blog post with a video of Alex being silly and playing with his toys. You can check it out here. He's pretty cute if I must say so myself.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope your weekend was a good one!

Last night it snowed again. According to the last weather forecast I had seen we were only supposed to get a coating or less. When Rick let the dogs out before we went to bed we were surprised to see them come back in with snow covered backs.

When we turned on the back deck light we could see the huge, fat, wet flakes coming down at what looked to be an alarming rate. Whoa! By the time we turned in there was at least an inch and it was still coming down. Beautiful to watch--coming straight down and huge flakes.

When we looked outside this morning we were both glad to see that it had not done as much as we were thinking it could, and we were left with about two inches of fresh wet snow. It coated everything in sight. I had to be quick with the camera because the minute the sun hit the trees it started to drop off of them in huge clumps.

I loved how the snow coating the branches took the places of leaves, closing in our yard as it does in summer when the leaves are fully out instead of our usual view of bare trees that stretch out and beyond.

The roadways were clear, the trees coated: a beautiful start to the day.

Who could ask for anything more?

(photos:)

Leaves of Snow

Coated

There is talk of yet more snow in our near future: not once, but possibly twice in the coming week. Our first chance is tomorrow night. It won't be much, maybe one to three inches, but enough that it has to be cleared from driveways, steps and sidewalks. Another potential storm is looming for Sunday into Monday. They are talking "major" and not just a couple of inches here or there. I really hope that one passes us by since Rick has a business trip and is leaving on Monday. To Florida!

A reader commented that they thought our foot of snow was pretty substantial and he thought that is more than he saw in one snowfall when he lived in New Jersey. It was substantial and more than we usually see in one single storm. But two other snow events stick out in my mind: one was the Snowicane from February of 2010. Please follow this link for that blog entry and photos.

The other, and possibly the most snow I've seen since we've lived here was this storm that came the day after Christmas of 2010. I don't think it had a name but it certainly deserved one! Click here for entry and pics. Here is one teaser photo. The winter that followed that storm was the snowiest we've had so far since we moved in 2006. It just did not stop snowing.

Our snow from the weekend is still here, albeit looking a bit sad after our above-freezing temperatures on Sunday and yesterday's icy rain. No way is it going anywhere before more snow is added to top it off. 

When I look back at the blog entries from previous years we were driving Mia in March and the trees were starting to bud out! By the end of April the trees are pretty much leafed out, but not fully. Right now that just doesn't seem possible. 

I can put up with a little winter as long as spring comes at the end of it! Spring is all the more sweeter after a true winter, don't you think?

(photo:) It's deep out here!