Monday, January 28, 2013

Snow

A Chesapeake Bay Son-Daughter Collaborative Masterpiece


Thursday morning we received a dusting of snow, but Friday afternoon we got what I would consider our first major snowfall of the season.

Unfortunately, it didn't last.

However, it lingered long enough for Son and Daughter to fasten a sled to the Gator and go zigzagging at high speeds all over the yard-- giving a nervous mother all the makings of a breakdown.

Nobody was hurt, unless you count my few frazzled nerves.



The tire tracks in the snow above (in my front yard) were from the Gator/sled event.



The snow began Friday at about 3:00.  I was working in Williamsburg, and as soon as I saw how quickly it was sticking to the roads, I left.

The Colonial Parkway was already covered by the time I made it there.

Route 17 traffic moved very slowly.




A skim of ice on Millers Cove



I passed several accidents and almost became a participant in one myself.  Coming down the hill just before Hodges and Bryant in Gloucester Court House, I tried to slow down, but my brakes locked up on me. I took my foot off, but the brake lights on the truck in front of me kept getting closer and closer.







Fortunately there was nobody in the next lane, and I was able to maneuver over there to avoid a disaster.








Route 14, the next to the last leg of my journey, was The Worst. Nobody was going over 15 miles per hour except, perhaps, for the man standing beside his overturned jeep on the edge of the woods. He didn't appear to be injured, but the Jeep didn't look so hot. He had to have been going fairly fast to make it as far off the road as he did.

My hour-long commute was almost two and a half hours that day. But I made it home safely, and my car wasn't turned upside down on the side of the road.

So there's that.




More slush around the dock.



Our cove off of Queens Creek, which back in the 1970s would freeze so solid my sisters and I could walk clear across it, has sported a thin film of slush for the past several days.








I don't think we'll ever see it freeze like that again.





These got a good workout this weekend.
I even wore them in Food Lion once.  

Although we didn't receive as much snow as I would have liked, we did have one day of a two hour commute and a near accident a good coating of snow, enough to build a silly snowman and slide around on a sled.

And enough to make it perfectly acceptable for me to wear zebra boots into the grocery store.

(Not that I needed an excuse.)




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OOooo CBW--that was a close call with the locked up brakes...so glad you veered out of it. Hoping you will not have any repeat commuting incidents this week. Love the snow creation in the yard; hopefully it survived the gator patrol.
LLC

deborah said...

That is the cutest snowman...and to be pulled around the yard on a sled sounds like too much fun! A good day for them and a tedious day for you driving home on the icy roads, so happy you made it safely!
Your cove does have a little skim of ice on it, so pretty!

We had a little snow and bad roads for a couple of days - its been so cold the roads iced over quickly and stayed that way. Now it supposed to get back up into the 60's Tuesday.

Anonymous said...

I all was new you had it in you. throwing 4000 pounds of metal into another lane like a Pro!! Look out NASCAR here comes CBW!!!

Daryl said...

love the snow man .. love your boots .. we were lucky it snowed here on Friday evening and ended Friday evening .. now there's just white salt stains on the streets .... and finally a day when its not below freezing!!

Jamie said...

We had a little snow, enough that the Brat Child begged to go sledding. There wasn't enough to make the sled go so I attempted to get the dog to pull us by throwing a ball and holding onto the leash. By the 4th hurt finger I decided it wasn't a good idea, much like I did back when I was 10. Then the dog started chewing and pulling on the sled and tugging us a few inches. Determined dog. We used to tie the sleds to the go-kart back in the day. I was just telling the Brat Child how we tried to "sled" in the spring on the grass but the friction of the sled on grass at high speeds actually burned our butts and created a hole in the sled.

Dghawk said...

I'm so glad you made it home safely on Friday. I left work at 2 and had to run a few errands before heading home (ie., food and gas) I was at Farm Fresh in Norge pumping my gas and saw the first flakes fall. Finished that, ran in the store, got my few things and when I came out it was like a blizzard! Fortunately I made it home fine also, no mishaps. Loved watching it come down though.

My Dad gave me the best advise for driving on snow and ice. Only give the car enough gas to keep your wheels rolling, and when you need to stop, "pump" on your brake instead of keeping steady pressure on it.

WV: Codarke 50. Keep taking those wonderful water pictures with your "Codarke 50" or whatever camera you use. After a hard day, they are very soothing to a frazzled psyche.