After a snow storm I can look out my kitchen window and see icicles forming on my neighbor’s eaves. I get a kick out of watching them grow to extraordinary lengths. Don’t forget that you can click on a photo to enlarge it.Icicles, generally speaking, don’t form on my house because of my rain gutters being in the way. This last storm disproved that theory. There was a lot roof top snow that also filled the gutters, thus giving the icicles a way to form. This was fun to watch because some of them even bent to conform to the gutter’s shape. My longest ‘sicle was 29”The longest icicle was in back of the house where a drainpipe was overworked. The ice stretched all the way to the ground. Is that really an icicle? I’m not sure.Even a drainpipe had a few icicles.I began to notice icicles all around my property. Here is one under one of my birdbaths. Tiny icicles on a bird feeder.They were in trees. This one reminds me of an oil can spout that railroaders used to use with steam engines.There was even a frozen bee in front of the house.The chimney was not to be left out.
All this beauty and looking for fun things in the snow must come to an end sooner or later. We have a relatively warm rain today that is quickly melting the snow. Most of you know an “atmospheric river” hit the West Coast and California’s Central Valley very hard yesterday. It’s now in our area. We are also concerned for floods as this melted snow must find its way to the Carson River and other waterways in Western Nevada. So right now, at this minute, I’m hoping the forecasters are right in saying we will have snow on the valley floors tonight, thus saving some of the area from flooding.
Check the photos below. You are able to use the arrows to wipe back and forth to contrast the photos of basically the same area.
Here is a contrast of right after our last storm and today as of 9:57 am. Yes, it looks as though there is still a lot of snow on the ground. That’s true, but there was a lot more yesterday. It also looks like a lot because I had to pile up snow to make a driveway for a vehicle.
This is what I call Lake Stephanie that is no more than 200 yards from my house as the crow flies. It’s created by drainage from the Pine Nuts range you see off in the distance. This water will sit here for months or until it dries up or eventually seeps over to the Carson River. Normally it is very as a bone. It’s here again and looks just like this except it was ice yesterday. (Taken in 2017)This is also from 2017 but shows you what floods can do to our Carson Valley. Taken from Kingsbury Grade on the way up to Lake Tahoe. The Pine Nuts are in the horizon.
Still, this area has a special hold over me and my psyche. As I’ve said before, I love this place with all its quirks. It keeps me going.
Last Friday was a beautiful, wonderful day. Some rain and a gorgeous double rainbow. I don’t think anyone was griping about the rain as we need the precipitation so much. It was still raining Saturday morning (New Year’s Eve) and there was some minor flooding in my backyard. The newly reconstructed drainage system was on overload. Not to worry. I knew everything would be ok. The double rainbow was a good omen. Quail and white crowned sparrows in the rain.
About mid-morning, as I was typing a long email, I looked up and the rain had turned to huge, fluffy snowflakes. No big deal, I thought, because it was 40º outside and the snow wasn’t sticking to the ground. Then, right before my eyes, the temp began to drop and the snow began to stick. It was the beginning of the biggest snowstorm since I’ve lived in Minden…almost 10 years.This is what the backyard looked like a couple hours later. The birds look for seed and suet no matter the weather. Please note the big bush in front of the Christmas tree. It does not look like that New Year’s Day.New Year’s Eve looking toward the neighbors and where the rainbow was. Needless to say, I did not go anywhere that night.New Year’s Day has dawned bright and cheery, giving all of us here in the Carson Valley a fine view of the Sierra Nevada. Here are the views from my front porch.Looking toward my neighbor’s house with the Sierra Nevada in the background.Twelve inches of Sierra CementYou might be wondering about the term “Sierra Cement”. It means the snow has a high water content and is very heavy when it piles up. You can see evidence of that cement effect on the bush directly in front of the Christmas tree. The snow has weighted down the limbs to flatten it some. You can’t see it but there is a pile of snow in the center of the bush, covering one of the birds’ water dishes. A limb has broken from the tree into the bush on the left. I couldn’t find the second water dish and had to get another one for the birds. Those lumps beyond the fence are snow covered sage brush and other native plants. The Pine Nuts are under the clouds in the back. More Sierra Cement effect. If you remember the last Buzzard Notes, there was a photo of quail feeding in front of where that hole in the snow is. That was a tall lilac bush with a butterfly bush nearest the camera. Inside looking out early New Year’s Day. I love this place…with its beauty, weather drama, temperature extremes, nature, and lots more.
buzzardnotes 