Renewal

Last week we had cold weather, even snow, as March came to a close and April began.
Spring, it appeared, was not quite ready to visit Pittsburgh. 
Over the weekend the weather got a bit milder and rain replaced the snow. 

A little after 6 pm on March 30, 2011 -- the snow is starting to collect on my car as the temperature hovers right above zero.

Today it was downright warm, with a temperature of 70F (21C) as I prepared to leave my office for a lunchtime walk in the woods.  The wind was blowing hard and the western horizon looked dark however, so I grabbed an umbrella - just in case the weather turned wet. 
Sure enough, about midway through my walk, fat raindrops began to splatter all around me - the umbrella was soon unfurled, as the rain turned into a soaking shower.
The woods began to smell of wet earth and my thoughts turned to nature's renewal.
Leaves will soon be growing on the bare tree branches and all sorts of greenery will spring from the ground as the temperatures rise. 

A Daisy's white petals "pop" against the verdant green of the undergrowth in the woods -- June 1, 2010

Nature's impending renewal could serve as a reminder to people perhaps, that it is time to shake-off the extra baggage we might have accumulated over the winter months and renew our outlook as well.  I wonder how many will notice and ultimately how many will accept the invitation. 

Just when you thought ...

I saw an announcement that the time will change tonight (March 12).
The time will "Spring Forward" by an hour, to compensate for the "Fall Back" experienced last Autumn/Fall.
When you hear that the time will change you naturally think that spring is near.

It seems Mother Nature has other ideas though.
I'm posting some pictures from our March 11 snowfall.
The temperature dropped a degree or two below freezing overnight and the rain that had been falling for the last day or two turned to heavy, wet snow.
It was not a massive snowfall (about 2 inches, or 5 cm), but it certainly served to remind us that spring and the warmer weather do not automatically arrive when the calendar says so.

Can't Blame the Weather Anymore

I read an article about "Snow Contracts" which blew my mind.
The premise sounds rather bizarre -- a company purchases a contract and ... bets on the amount of snow that will fall -- or will not fall.

Cashing In On Snowstorms

It used to be that weather was viewed as something beyond people's control - an act of nature.
With "Snow Contracts", business people are attempting to lessen the financial impact of e.g. a severe snowfall, or even an entire winter season and the business interference they can cause.

For example, if a massive blizzard prohibits: 1) your manufacturing facility from making product, 2) your shipping company from delivering the product, or 3) people from driving to your store to buy the product (causing your sales to drop), you can now cover some or all of your losses.  This presumes of course that you had the foresight to negotiate a "Snow Contract" a few months in advance... 

This winter has been a pretty rough one for people in the US, as well as in other parts of the world.
With the availability of "Snow Contracts", CEOs will have one less excuse for company stockholders, should their business decline.

White Christmas

Mother Nature helped make the wishes of many children come true this morning by coating Pittsburgh with a blanket of snow and delivering a White Christmas.
The temperature was a few degrees below freezing and we had about an inch (3 cm) on the ground this morning, as I grabbed the shovel to clean the driveway.

I paused during the shoveling and gazed in wonder at a nature-made Christmas tree, outside my house.

The silence was absolute, every sound muffled by the snow -- even the birds and other critters were being quiet.  The lyrics to 'Silent Night' came to mind:

Silent Night

Silent night holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;
Christ the Savior, is born
Christ the Savior, is born.

Silent night holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

 

The work completed, I snapped a couple more pictures before heading inside to warm-up.

I'd like to wish everyone a merry Christmas.

May all your wishes come true.

Ready for the Holidays?

You know this thing with the cold is getting very tiresome ... !
And winter doesn't officially begin until December 21 !
We have been under this constant barrage of frigid arctic air for many days now.
It is very cold and windy = a bad combination.
The temperature this morning was 15F (-9C), however when the wind was factored-in (the so-called wind-chill temperature), it felt like 4F (-15C).
Yesterday's high temperature was 16F (-9C), today we will get as warm as 22F (-5C), however we are not expected to get warmer than the freezing mark for the next few days.

With all this in mind, we might have a "white Christmas" after all -- or at least a very cold one.
The good news for me was that the temperature warmed-up to a few degrees above freezing last weekend and I was able to install the various lighted decorations outside my house (they help to put you in a Christmas mood, don't you know?).

Street view at night in the falling snow - reindeer in "liftoff" mode

Driveway/Walkway view - you can also see some neighbors' lighted decorations in the background

Now that the lights are up, all that is required is to actually get into the spirit!
I wish you all a blessed Christmas.

Winter has Arrived

We woke up to 30F (around -1C) this morning and the weatherman was talking about all the rain from the last 24 hours changing to snow later in the day.
I didn't pay much attention ... I was running late.
Then I stepped outside and noticed the landscape was covered in white.
I snapped a quick picture of my car in the dark, before clearing off the light blanket of wet snow.

The commute in to work was a bit sloppy and the traffic was pretty snarled.
Thankfully there were no accidents or cars that had driven off the road.

First "snow-on-the-ground" of the cold season on the first day of December.
I must admit it looks pretty.
Ask me how I feel about the snow in a couple of months though, and I might have a slightly different opinion...

Even though technically there are still a few weeks left in autumn, I would like to wish everyone a "Good Winter" (Kalo Xeimwna in Greek).

Winter Wonderland

"Pittsburgh will be spared the full blow of this winter storm ..." were the words of the weatherman from the local newscast on Friday as he showed the states and cities that were about to be clobbered by the coming storm to our South.
Fast forward to Saturday morning (a day full of planned activities by the way), when we woke up to find everything covered in white outside. Another weatherperson on the morning news was saying how we should feel lucky we "only got 8-9 cm of snow"since states like Virginia and cities like Washington DC and New York City were expected to get as much as 30 cm from this storm.

Here is what it looked like as I stood on my front porch, looking at my neighborhood (my driveway is at the bottom of the picture and the road goes across the middle of the picture at an angle - see the yellow fire hydrant at the edge of the road).
I walked outside and started shoveling my driveway, trying to clear a path to the street which was still impassable at the time.
The snow was still falling, but I was simply trying to clear-up the majority of the snow at that point.

Soon I heard the rumble of the snow plow going up and down the street, clearing snow and spreading salt behind it.
The street was now navigable and I only needed to clear my driveway to enable us to actually attempt to drive on it.

The closer I got to the end of the driveway, the wetter and heavier the accumulated snow became (partially melted by the salt from the snow plow). Eventually the path was cleared and it was time to clear the sidewalks and the pathway to the front of the house. It took about two hours and the falling snow was starting to turn the areas I had cleared white again. It was time to deploy the salt, which was sprinkled on the the surfaces and started working right away, since it was about -2C, still warm enough for salt to be effective.

This is the view of the end result from the sidewalk (standing by the yellow fire hydrant).
My son Greg had to take his last two final exams at Pitt today (yes, they also give finals on Saturday I found out) and we planned to go pick him up in the afternoon.
Unfortunately each municipality is responsible for snow removal on their streets and others were not as efficient as our own local folks.
Still, my wife employed a slow and steady pace and managed to go to the university and bring him home without any mishaps.
Now we get to sit back and relax, perhaps we might even have a white Christmas...