freezing rain

Here in the Willamette Valley, we don’t usually get much snow.  Maybe a dusting a couple times a year.  Somethings none at all.  We already had a big snow storm that hung around for a few days back in December. (Photos of this here and here)  This week brought another winter storm system.

We woke up on Thursday morning to a couple inches of snow on the ground.  It kept on dumping snow all day and we ended up with about 5 inches.  Alma, unfortunately, was sick, so we didn’t get to go play in the snow this time.  By the end of Friday, we had 8 inches!  Luckily, Alma was feeling better by the time Jesse got home from work, so we went for a quick walk in the snow.

While we were walking, the snow turned into freezing rain.  The freezing rain kept up all night.  We could hear it pattering on our window.  In the morning there was a quarter inch of ice covering everything.  The freezing rain is still falling, and coating everything with a thick layer of ice.  Outside, you can hear tree branches creaking and cracking.  I’ve heard stories of fallen trees and power outages all over town.

The freezing rain can cause some spooky things, but it’s also really beautiful.  I have gone out a couple times already to take some photos.

Here’s our weeping cherry tree at 8:00 am:

And again at 11: