A Foot And A Half Of Snow

7:16

It's a winter wonderland here at the lake, white lawns, frosted trees, and a cold 26º.  It looks like the major snowfall, a result of lake effect snow, has ebbed though we may have some flurries today. The lake was a frothy mix yesterday, as we could see ice beginning to form, waves hitting the shore because of the winds.

Hungry Birds

We had as much snowfall in the past 36 hours as I can remember since we retired here at the lake in 2010.  And it's not yet December or winter.  Schools, which rarely close around here, were closed as were many businesses and restaurants.  We did not venture out either, preferring to stay warm and safe in our house as the roads were treacherous, especially early.  Shane was by around 7:30 to plow our roads and I then was out around 8:00 and spent a good forty-five minutes cleaning our parking area and the car.  My leaf raking on Sunday and Monday was perfectly timed as was putting my Honda in the garage, all before the snowstorm. 

When I came in, I had my breakfast and we finished up the blog.  We have had flocks of waterfowl in front of our house, mostly geese and swans but also a few buffleheads have appeared.  And our bird feeders are busy so we have lots of fun keeping up with their feedings.  Evie kept busy much of the morning, putting together a sweet potato, chicken, and black bean casserole to freeze for later in the month.  And she decided that we would have fried chicken for dinner, so she got out some boneless chicken thighs and marinated them in buttermilk. 

Buffleheads, Mallard, Snow, Sleet, Ice  

Lunch was the Turkish soup Evie had made on Tuesday and toasted cheese sandwiches, along with Wegman's jam.  I watched more of the Jack Reacher series, then finished up my John Grisham novel before taking a nap.  Mid-afternoon, Evie breaded the chicken, getting it ready to fry and I started a new Gabriel Allon thriller and made myself some Turkish tea, a good way to spend the afternoon, reading and drinking Turkish tea.  By 4:30, I was ready to get some exercise, so I put on my snow gear and went for a hike in the woods, at least a part of them, Kinney's Run.  It was much more difficult then I thought and I could have used some snowshoes as the snow was almost up to my mid calves in some areas.  I was gone only a half hour but worked up quite a sweat, tromping through the snow and lovely woods at dusk.

I was home in time for a beer and some relaxation in front of the fireplace.  While I was out hiking, Evie browned the chicken and then put it in the oven to finish cooking.  Around 6:30, Evie made some cole slaw, heated up some mac n cheese and we had a picnic dinner on a still snowy evening.  We watched Colbert, then more of the LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL before going up to bed, the end of a real winter day.