Blue Sky Breaks Out....

impossibly beautiful

Friday Cat: tiger paws

Watching Wiskerz in the snow reminded me of this old commercial for Uniroyal tires. I think I could use this particular car to get up my hill! It sure seems like a simpler time!

Blizzard of 2006 – ROUND 2!!!

The storm report kept getting more and more serious as the week progressed. It appears to be just as big as the original Blizzard of 2006! In fact, we may get more snow than the last one. I got all prepared last night – put gas in the car and bought groceries. My dad called this afternoon to check on me. He wanted to know if I had a good supply of bourbon!!

I felt lucky just to get up my street. The city never plowed and the road has been covered with deep rutted ice and a thick layer of cement-like loose snow. This afternoon it was made more challenging because of the additional 6 inches of snow and the debris from several stuck cars.

But I made it home and I am here to stay – for several days if I need to. If I want to get out, I will travel by snowshoe!!

I will however have to continue to worry about my younger son and his friends who are stuck in traffic on I-70 in the mountains trying to get home.

12:30 a.m. update: younger son is home after a 7 hour drive that normally takes a little over an hour! On his way home, he told me he was going to come home and then go out again! After a few more hours snowbound on I70, he traded this wish for a hot shower and a warm bed. It is not a fit night out for man nor beast!

Blizzard of 2006 - Denver, Colorado

It started with a forecast that actually predicted 2-4 feet of snow. We get a lot of snow predictions that fizzle. This one didn’t!

My son was set to fly out of Denver International Airport on Wednesday to Germany. His airline kept telling us that the flight would take off on time, so we headed to the airport. The conditions were terrible but we made it fine after a nerve-wracking 3-hour drive. (normally only 40 minutes) The airport was already packed and my son’s flight was checking in passengers. We had to wait in a line to pick up his ticket and 2.5 hours later he had his ticket in hand for a flight that was cancelled at an airport that was (by then) closed!

The weather was even worse than earlier, so I decided to stay the night with my son. We both had our cameras and I even had my tripod (although you might not be able to tell from my photos!) We walked around and took photos of the people and the weather and the beautiful architecture.

We waited too long to pick up our complimentary blanket and pillow, so we had nothing beyond what we brought or had in the car. Luckily, I had found a close in parking spot so I could get the one blanket I had there. My son and I found a spot, claimed our territory and took turns resting on the floor on the blanket with our coats for warmth and his backpack as a pillow. I think I slept for about 2 hours. I knew I would be going home later in the day, so it wasn’t like most of the rest of the people who were stranded for days.


Thursday morning, we heard that the airport would remain closed until midday on Friday AND that the weather was clearing and that the plows had cleared the road to the airport. We decided to leave and I put my son on the train to another city without weather problems. As I write this, my son is on a flight to Munich and we have dug 2 of my 3 cars out of their snowdrifts. Life will slowly return to normal, only the biggest piles of snow will linger.

back in the pink

I thought I was getting out too late this morning. As soon as I stepped out the door, I could see fantastic color in the sky. I hurried to the lake (it is best to keep out of my way at a time like this!!) and found that although I missed some of the color, I watched a completely breathtaking sunrise followed by swirling moody gray skies - not to be missed.

I perched on the edge of the lake as some of the geese stood on the thin ice, all that is left after days of warm weather.

hidden in the shadows

of Barnum Lake on a cloudy morning…..

A can of spray paint…… and

foreclosure in the suburbs

After a cloudy sunrise, I pondered the empty run-down house that I pass by everyday on the way to and from Top of the World Park.

This house borders the park and I can remember when the backyard landscaping and covered patio were a sight to behold, a place of rest and peace, cool respite from the hot summer sun. Not any more. I wonder what painful secrets hide behind the walls of this house now.

work in progress - lake ice

far more than a smooth sheet of ice

a whole world of crystal patterns, frozen bubbles and myriad textures

trying to find a way to show you!

the lake's winter wrap

cattails revisited

Bear Creek Lake Park

the allure of cattails

reflections on ice

moon child's delight

Yesterday and today have been a delight for me - one of those moon children. The moon is full and the sky is clear and the moon sits low on the horizon when I am out taking the sunrise photos. The show has not been the sunrise but the full moon in that pale lavender sky that only lasts for about ten minutes before the sun comes up above the horizon.

heat wave!

Out the back window, the sunrise looked deceptively dull. There were no clouds to be seen rather a simple peach glow to the horizon. I bundled up, with yesterday’s near frostbite experience (or so it seemed) weighing heavily on my mind.


As soon as I stepped out, I knew I had been mistaken. The 20º F felt balmy and there were the most beautiful clouds sitting atop Green Mountain, waiting to show off a spectacular pink riot.

The colors toward sunrise were VERY-lightly pastel and the most interesting sight was all of the sledding footprints and the texture of the snow-surface. I got right down in the snow on my hands and knees to take a few pictures. Never once did I feel cold except for my hands and a brief protest over putting the mittens back on!


Just as promised, the sky lit up over Green Mountain...