Deja Vu

Snowdrops must be a resilient species!

I blogged this little clump amongst the leaves in the garden five weeks ago.

Then came the snow, twice - more than six inches each time, lasting for days, and they disappeared from view, to re-appear now that the snow and ice are melting away.  

They appear to have been a little nibbled - perhaps by this rather well camouflaged mourning dove that I photographed a week or so ago between the two snowstorms. Otherwise they are unscathed by the freezing temperatures and ice.

Looking back to last year's blog for this week, we had also had snow and soon after it melted there were crocuses and winter aconites in bloom.

No sign of these just yet but the temperatures are rising and by the middle of this week will be some 30C higher than the overnight temperatures at the weekend!

Great (Muddy) Falls of the Potomac

Today was another beautiful sunny day and we woke (late - clocks went forward one hour last night) to the sound of dripping, dripping and more dripping.

We thought we would make a trip to Great Falls to see the park in the snow and to see what effect the rapid melt was having on the river.

There was plenty of snow left in the park and underfoot, making a very slippery walk along the river trail to the Mather Gorge.

The water was fast-moving, noisy, muddy and carrying debris of trees and large lumps of ice.

Preparing for St Patrick's Day

In November at our local Giant supermarket I photographed some chrysanthemums, cunningly disguised as Thanksgiving turkeys.

Now that St Patrick's Day is on the horizon there is a new chrysanthemum creation on the shelves..

If this is not your thing then you could purchase some green carnations..

Or a 'shamrock' plant..

In the chilled food section the ingredients for a St Patrick's Day meal have thoughtfully been assembled..

Perhaps this year we will try cooking a joint of Corned Beef Brusket just to see how it comes out...

Sun on Snow

This morning, despite the very low temperature (-14C at dawn) the sun was shining and everything looked brighter!

There were icicles fringing the roof this morning and they grew during the day..

Some were ridiculously long and had to be dodged.

At the end of the day one of the conifers had created its own decorations..

Probably our greatest surprise of the day was when we saw from the kitchen window a little movement under the snow - a good distance away - and a little chipmunk popped up to survey his changed surroundings..

We feared for his safety as he was rather prominent in the white landscape and we had seen the hawk again at his lookout in the trees.

Snow Day

At first light this morning there was no sign of snow and we wondered whether the Snow Day would in fact be a Rain Day - it had rained all night.

However, once it started it snowed steadily all day and despite the often tiny flakes it quickly accumulated so that by this evening there was some 8-9" on top of the residues of the last fall.

The birds were having a hard time and even the squirrels, despite eating their way through the day, looked disheveled and fed up..

One came to the window to see if things looked better on the inside..

At lunchtime, David thought that it would be 'a good idea' to go for a walk to Fox Mill and have some lunch.  We set off..

The Reston Parkway was pretty clear, except for a convoy of snow ploughs..

Coming home it was deeper than ever and I had to walk in David's footprints to stay upright!

Poor old trees and shrubs..

Poor old yeti woman..

Ice Patterns

I am returning to a previous theme - patterns forming in the ice on the drive where water runs over the concrete.

I am intrigued by the fact that the shapes made in the ice are often triangles..

This last photo appears to contradict the triangle pattern but in fact the circles are air bubbles under the ice which were slowly moving.

We have had unusual weather today.  Snow still on the ground but much warmer air, creating fog sitting close to the ground over the snowy areas.  

Tonight it is pouring with rain but there is a 'Winter Storm Advisory' in place from midnight until Thursday evening as the temperature falls overnight and the wind from the north brings snow.. maybe the last of the winter?

In anticipation of bad weather and difficult travelling conditions Fairfax County have closed all schools and David's office is shut for a 'Snow day'...

Hiding in the tree..

The cold weather always means more visitors to the feeders and as Spring approaches the birds seem to be more colourful than ever.  The bluebirds are always so improbably bright..

The nuthatch and the female cardinal are not quite so vibrant..

The male house finch is showing a colourful red blush..

There are some conifer trees on our neighbour's boundary, just a few feet from the bird feeders.

On Sunday David spotted this hidden, silent visitor in the tree.. waiting and watching..