This is the big one...

...this is the one we've all been waiting for!

OK well maybe we haven't all been waiting for it, but I certainly have.  I've been doing snow dances every time any kind of system moves through our area and this time, it seems to have finally worked!

If you didn't already know, teachers (including student teachers like me) LOVE snow days!!

This is what greeted me on weatherbug dot com a few minutes ago:

BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY


• A Blizzard Warning Means Severe Winter Weather Conditions Are Expected Or Occurring. Falling And Blowing Snow With Strong Winds And Poor Visibilities Are Likely. This Will Lead To Whiteout Conditions...Making Travel Extremely Dangerous. Do Not Travel. If You Must Travel...Have A Winter Survival Kit With You. If You Get Stranded...Stay With Your Vehicle.Urgent - Winter Weather Message, National Weather Service MI
 
Impacts...

• Heavy Snow...Strong Gusty Winds...And Widespread Blowing And
Drifting Snow Will Make Travel Dangerous Tonight And
Wednesday.

• White-Out Conditions With Visibilities Of One-Quarter Of Mile
Or Less Due To Intense Snowfall And Blowing Snow.

• Quickly Accumulating Snow And Blowing And Drifting Snow Will
Make Roads Very Hard To Clear.

• Untreated Roads Will Become Slippery...Snowpacked...And
Dangerous.

• Heavy Snow And Strong Winds May Cause Power Outages.

Hazardous Weather...

• Snow Will Spread North Into Southeast Michigan Late This
Evening And Become Heavy Overnight Into Wednesday.

• Northeast Winds Will Gust In Excess Of 35 Mph Tonight And
Wednesday Morning...Creating Areas Of Blowing And Drifting
Snow...And Widespread Blizzard Conditions.

• The Heaviest Snow And Strongest Wind Gusts Are Expected To
Coincide Between Midnight Tonight And 10 AM Wednesday.

• Heavy Storm Total Snow Accumulations Between 8 And 12 Inches
Are Expected.

• Wind Chills Are Forecasted To Range Between 0 And 5 Degrees
Below Zero Tonight.

I've also already learned that Eastern Michigan University has closed for tonight and tomorrow, which is VERY rare and the public libraries in our area have all closed for tomorrow.  Obviously my first and most important concern is for everyone to stay safe and warm...and to stay OFF the roads if at all possible.  Bearing that in mind, bring on the snow!  I'm guessing the preschool where I'm currently student teaching will close for two days, based on what my CT and other veterans had to say this morning.  Two days of unexpected time off?  That definitely works for me!!  

I'll be sure and post pictures and updates later, assuming I'm not buried under the white stuff!  

 





   

Garlic Mustard Weed-Out Day

My younger sister, Holly and I went out to volunteer for the 11th annual Garlic Mustard Weed-Out day today. We went to Bird Hills Park in Ann Arbor, and we had a great time while also doing something productive and beneficial for our local environment.

If you don't know about it, Garlic Mustard is a non-native, invasive species that was originally brought over by Europeans.

It spreads very rapidly and can quickly snuff out the surrounding plant life, thereby impacting biodiversity and ultimately affecting the entire natural habitat. But--thanks to adopt-a-park workers and volunteers, there has been an organized "fight" against this weed to help control the spread of the beast.

When the plants are young (around this time of year in Michigan,) it's relatively easy to pull them out by the root. As long as they are properly disposed of, in a sealed garbage bag for instance, people can really aid in preventing the loss of other plant (and animal) life. Oh, and speaking of proper disposal, it turns out the tender, young version of the garlic mustard plant is edible! We were given several different recipes today, but I didn't feel quite brave enough to bring any weeds home for cooking. The leaves have a very pungent, garlicky smell when you're near them. Incidentally, that is one sure way to know you're picking the right thing since they do bear an uncanny resemblance to young violets.

Overall we had a great time, and we both felt good about our volunteer efforts for the day. As luck would have it, we left the park a few short minutes before a glorious spring thunderstorm rolled through.

I'm glad to say this photo was taken from the relatively safe and dry vantage point of Holly's car!

P.S.

If you want to know more about garlic mustard, here is a longish, but rather informative video about the plant:


Garlic Mustard Identification and Control from Barbara Lucas on Vimeo.

Therapy at North Bay Park ...a Photo Essay of My Day

For me there is nothing quite as therapeutic as some sunshine and a date with my camera! Today I took the doggies out to North Bay Park, which is a couple of miles from my house. The sun was shining and it was warm with a lovely spring breeze.

it's been far too long since I've taken my camera out to play...

this is good for my soul!

And speaking of my camera, I need to talk about that word a little. To me, the word camera seems cold and metallic, much like the device. "Camera" comes nowhere close to describing how I really feel about this little piece of metal, plastic, and glass. Granted, it is only a thing, but it's a thing that I really love! For this reason, I refer to my camera as my "camrade" sort of like a comrade. :) My family members have heard me say this so much that they've begun to use it themselves, which I find endearing.

Today's little excursion was a therapy trip for my dogs too. It's been a long time coming for these sweet, faithful girls! They needed to get out of the house and see a bit more of the world! They are happy and well-loved to be sure, but the truth is that when I'm in school they spend a lot of time waiting for me to get home...and waiting for me to finish my homework.

Ditto and Dinah, my "doggy daughters," enjoying their ride in the car.

Once at the park, one of the first things I saw was a kite stuck in the edge of a tree. This made feel a little sad, and it made me think of life. Sometimes I feel as though I'm "stuck" just on the edge of freedom, just on the edge of breaking through to a more fulfilling life...a lot like this kite. It's the old "if only" adage that so many people live by, but that I try not to dwell on too much. I also thought about the child who lost this kite. I wonder what that day was like? I wonder how much time the adults who were present had to spend consoling?

We started our walk with a lovely view of the path stretching out ahead of us...

...but it didn't take long for the girls to find a log that smelled absolutely heavenly to them.

After stopping to say hi to lots of passers by, and of course to have a nice, long sniff at every opportunity, we finally made it down to the water. The sun was shining and the water was beautiful. Even the old, dead logs were glittering like diamonds!

These are the prescription sunglasses I got for Christmas last year. It was nice to finally put them to use for something other than driving in the car or walking around campus at Eastern. I am one lucky girl!

Once around the other side of the lake there was a bit more shade. The trees in Michigan are just gorgeous right now. They are all rife with buds and the colors are just beginning to burst forth in anticipation of warmer days ahead.

Standing under these huge trees, I felt almost as if it was raining willow branches. The way they were swaying in the breeze, and blocking the sun from my face...it was like a magical little world under the willows, belonging only to me. But, as if on cue, there was the ever-present reminder of humanity. A huge plane taking off from the local airport. I like the juxtaposition between nature and people in the photo below.

Also in a strange parallel to life, my walk wasn't all sunshine and roses. {Fair warning: if you are squeamish you may not want to look to closely at the following two photos!} About half way around the lake, I saw what I first thought was an old, hollow log next to a tree, but it didn't look quite right. Upon closer inspection I realized it was actually a dead fish. To be honest, I couldn't decide at the time if it was a dead bird or a dead fish, but after showing the pictures to Michael, we decided this was most certainly a former fish. How it got up next to the tree I have no idea. I'm certain there is some interesting story that goes along with this image too, much like the kite, but your guess is as good as mine!


All in all, dead fish included, I had a lovely day that made me feel more refreshed than I've felt in a long time. To top it off, I came home to find a very sweet card and gift from my young friend, Kyra. This is the little girl I cared for from the time she was two weeks old until she turned three-and-a-half and went to preschool. You can read more about my time with K. in this post, but the gist of the story is that this sweet gesture really warmed my heart. Kyra's mom called me last week to tell me how much they've been thinking about me. I've been thinking about them a lot too, but with all the craziness at school, calling them back has remained on my to-do list. :( We haven't been able to make time to see each other nearly as much as either one of us would have liked this past year, but the love is still there. Kyra is five now, which is unfathomable to me. She's a lovely little girl and I still miss her so much it hurts sometimes. It was really nice to know they were thinking of me, and the bracelet she made is darling. I've been wearing it all evening, but I did take it off for a minute so I could scan it in:

So sweet...what a lovely day it's been!

Promises of Spring

I get a giddy feeling when I look at my front garden around this time every year. Somehow it never ceases to amaze me when my bulbs and perennials begin their reawakening, and when the maple tree breaks out in buds. After such a long and brutal winter, it seems almost impossible they could come back. Today is sunny, if a little windy and cool. I took the opportunity to get out and do a bit of early spring pruning. The first daffodils have already bloomed, and if the multitude of tiny green chutes I saw are any indication, there will be a profusion of blooming to follow. I truly do love something about every season here in Michigan, but the promise of renewal and life that comes with spring is invigorating!

The Worms are Confused (again!)

We've had an extremely unusual warm streak here in Michigan these past few days. On Tuesday it was sunny and in the 50's. The last couple days it's been rainy but still warm, very odd for early February. Mind you, this winter has been brutal up until this point, with record snow fall and many frigid days where the temperature lingers around zero. I've enjoyed the warm streak, but last night when I left school (sometime after 9:00,) I noticed a whole bunch of earthworms crawling around on the sidewalk. Apparently they are confused and think spring is here. I feel badly for them, because many will get squished by unobservant pedestrians. I spent a minute or two rescuing a few of them and transporting them back to the grassy area (weird, I know) but then I gave up because there were too many and I was getting cold. The same thing happened last year and I also reacted similarly, but that was in April rather than February...weird!

Deep Freeze

As I type this, the temperature outside is 12.2 °F, which actually seems rather like a heat wave. This past week, Michigan has been experiencing a deep freeze. Temperatures in the neighborhood of -13 °F for several days in a row, which makes the wind chill temps somewhere in the neighborhood of -23 °F depending on the day. So cold that cars won't start and 50-year-old men were found frozen to death outside their homes. Bitterly cold. We know how to handle winter here in Michigan, but this was winter like we rarely experience. We made it through the week relatively unscathed not counting the dead car battery and my husband's frozen mustache. Needless to say, he was pretty freaking cold when this image was taken. This was the morning our car wouldn't start.

It certainly could have been worse, but I'm glad the arctic front has moved past for now.

We have had a lot of snow so far this year. Many days of digging the cars out of the driveway in the freezing cold. You can really see how much snow there was in the photo below...much more and the car would have been buried.

Our most recent big snowfall was about a week ago and it was a rather beautiful one. My parents live on 4 acres of land not too far from us. I had the chance to get a few pictures while visiting with them last Sunday:


And last but not least, a haphazard image of the bird's nest in our front yard. This catches my eye every time I come and go. I love the way the nest keeps collecting snow almost like a cone.

Winter's Welcome

One of the very best things about being in the educational field in Michigan: SNOW DAYS!! Granted, these days have to be tacked onto the end of the year, but there's just something wonderful about getting an extra day off for what would have been the last day of school before break. Of course since I'm only a sub, this means no pay for me...but I'm OK with that.

Michigan is getting pelted today. We've already had about 3-4" since 4:00 a.m. and as I look out my window right now, I can see a steady snowfall covering the tracks the dogs have made. Even Eastern closed campus today, which NEVER happens. You can imagine my surprise when I checked my email this morning and saw this message: "Eastern Michigan University is closed today (Friday, Dec. 19) due to the weather." Another weird thing happened today too. We were listening to the weather channel this morning for updates and the local emergency broadcast cut in with a message, "The Ann Arbor area is at a stage yellow winter weather alert level," which was followed by information about the hazardous roads and extra driving time. This is just weird. I've lived in Michigan for over 15 years and not once have I heard such a message. I think the big concern is the ice because it really does complicate things...but still, an emergency alert message for a snow storm??

So of course I had to take a few pictures this morning. Unfortunately I don't have my good camera because I left my battery charger in MD and both my batteries have since died, but my camera phone does OK with enough light.

Winter has certainly made herself welcome, even before she's technically supposed to be here. She's even sitting in our chairs:


The weight of the snow and ice caused our bushes to spread out so you can barely see the path to our front door. Of course this is pre-shoveling.

Even Santa, who normally enjoys a rather sheltered existence under the porch received his fair share of snow with this storm.


And last but not least, the dogs have to be mentioned. Ditto has always liked the snow, she scampers right our into it and begins the work of making tracks through the yard. Sometimes she even sticks her nose into the snow and makes a wuffling sound like she's snorting. It's always funny to me that her normally white-looking coat doesn't quite look white next to the snow.


And then there's Dinah with the short legs and low, low body. She does not enjoy the snow. She stands at the door and gives me an imploring look when I make her go outside. This morning her legs basically disappeared in the snow, which was pretty darn funny, poor dog!

Winding Down

My semester officially ended today, which is a tremendous relief! I'm hoping I ended up with all A's, but there are two classes that are hanging in the balance between A's and B's. More than anything I am happy it's over. This was one very hectic semester and I made it through in one piece. What a nice thought that I don't even have to think about school again until next year!

Christmas is only nine days away! We went and got our tree this past weekend, which was a lot of fun. For once we weren't the ones having a family tiff.

As we were cutting our tree down there was a family walking around near us. They were going back and forth about which tree to get and then the teenage daughter said to the mother, "why are you acting like this," at which point the mother said, "I'm sick of you guys picking on me...no one gives a crap anymore" and then she started crying. Around that time, the father walked over to the pair and said, "will you guys cut it out, this is bullshit!" I felt kind of sorry for them and was happy we weren't experiencing that kind of stress. Our tree is huge this year but with the use of our handy tools, cutting it down was a piece of cake.
On our way out we passed a father and son who had come to the conclusion they had the wrong saw blade. We could tell they were getting frustrated so we offered to let them use our blade. The father was coaching his son all through the process of cutting the tree. He kept calling him "buddy," which was truly adorable." With the right blade, they had their tree cut in about five minutes and all seemed happy.

This is such a busy time of year for us. We have my niece's 2nd birthday on Dec. 20th, a Christmas party on Dec. 21st, Christmas itself, which is also Michael's birthday, our big family Christmas on Dec. 28th, and then our wedding anniversary on Dec. 29th! With all that (and then some) on the to-do list, I can see that next year will be here in no time...bring it on!