More Cold and Snow

Yesterday I drove to Seattle as it was the day my father and I were taking my nieces, nephews, sister and sister-in-law to the theater and dining at the Space Needle. This has been an almost annual event for since my oldest niece (now 17) was 4 years old. When I left the house it was only 17 degrees F. Yikes! It is beginning to feel like we live someplace like Chicago rather than the normally balmy Pacific Northwest. Our cold spell has lasted over a week now. Daytime temperatures will be just above freezing during the coming week but it will still be cold enough for ice and snow at night.

From the deck of the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry you could see the "steam" rising off Puget Sound. This is a rare occurance as it usually is not cold enough for this to happen. As you can see the weather started off sunny and bright. By the time I got into Seattle (roads were bare and dry from Mukilteo) it was clouding over. Our group (nine of us!) went to the 5th Avenue Theatre downtown and saw the matinee performance of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. When we came out at 4:30 there was about a 1/2 inch of snow covering everything. It made the lights of downtown Seattle really sparkle. Luckily, the snowstorm was predicted so there were not a lot of cars on the streets.

We made our way back to the parking garage by cutting through the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. While there we stopped in at the Teddy Bear Suite where this picture was taken. At the Space Needle Restaurant we enjoyed another great meal while it continued snowing outside. It was a little like spinning around in a snow globe. This effect was heightened as we rode down in the elevator. We were descending considerably faster than the snowflakes so it looked like they were falling UP!

The drive back to Whidbey Island was long but uneventful. There was snow on the roads the entire journey but since it was still quite cold it was not terribly slippery. It took about 50 minutes to reach the ferry terminal at Mukilteo (vs. 30 min.) and another 45 minutes (vs. 20-25 min.) to get home. The snow on the roads on the island was several inches deep especially after I turned off the highway onto Bush Point Rd./Smugglers Cove Rd. I did not see another car after I turned until just as I was turning onto our street.

We woke up to about 4 inches of new snow for a total of about 5 inches. It snowed off and on all day. Late morning one of our neighbors called to tell us that a pod of orcas heading south. This was the FIRST time we had seen them going past even though we have lived here over three years! Unfortunately we were hosting the neighborhood holiday party at 2 pm so I had little time to watch them. I tried to take pictures but my camera did not have a strong enough zoom.

Every time the snow stops the birds and creatures make forays out from wherever they are hunkered down. Today Dom and I watched a junco hopping up and tugging on dried out wildflowers which caused the seeds to pop out. The bird then pecked at the seeds on the snow before repeating the process. Above are some tracks that were left on bench outside the front door.

After everyone left this evening I noticed the lights on the potted tree on the front porch glowing through the fresh snow. It looks incredibly beautiful outside but we are getting tired of having to put on boots and coats every time we want to go outside. Usually we run outside and get firewood or go up to the garage without jackets and often in our slippers, even when it is raining.