The Blizzard of Nod

The folk who live in Nod are NOT sissies...

...at least not when it comes to winter.

Those of us who grew up here, have seen snow....LOTS of snow and, in more recent years, ice...and, every year, brutal, take-your-breath-away cold.  What is seen as a crippling storm in other parts of the country is, well, just another day in Nod.  Schools and businesses rarely close due to inclement weather, and while winter storm and snow advisories are an every-other-day event, "blizzard" warnings are somewhat rare because, well, we are NOT sissies and it takes something major to be classified as a "blizzard" here (The 18" of snow we got the Tuesday before last, for example, was not considered a blizzard since the wind gusts were only 20 mph and you could technically still see at least 10 feet in front of your nose.)  In fact, the last time a blizzard warning was issued for Nod was 10 years ago.

So, when they issue a blizzard warning, we take it seriously, and we know it's gonna get ugly.  And it DID get ugly this weekend. 

First, of course, we were glazed over with ice....just to make sure neither man, nor beast nor vehicle would be able to maneuver in a straight line.

Then the snow came.... Not like we needed any more considering we had already gotten over 40" this month.

But came it did regardless.

And it continued to come....

A bit of panic actually overtook both me and Snowdog Sunday morning when I could not open either door to let him out to do his "thing."

The snow eased up late yesterday afternoon.  But then the winds came....55-60 mph winds. (By the way, if any of you find my "Happy Holidays" sign that was by my front door, I will pay postage to have it shipped back to me. Given the direction of the winds, I would think it should be somewhere near Pennsylvania.)

The teeny, tiny, house in Nod shook and groaned in protest, and for a while there, I thought we might be air-borne.

  

Then the cold came... This-hurts-to-breathe kind of cold.

This morning  finally came and I was surprised that I was not any where near Oz or the Emerald City. 

I was still here in Nod....and, unfortunately, so was the snow.

(There's a fireplace under there someplace....)

But, we weathered another storm.  Others who were not so fortunate will try to pick up the pieces the best they can.

Little Crow's carport collapsed:

(His truck was trashed....an estimated $12,000+ worth of damage.)

And, despite efforts to keep it clear, the roof on my niece's barn caved in:

(Poor cows....)

Although we are up to our necks in snow... 

(There's another standing deer under there somewhere....makes you feel sorry for the real ones.)

....we will carry on and shovel out, because more snow is coming tomorrow.

And Snowdog's mountain continues to grow.