And it Snowed, and it Snowed and it Snowed...

My last post was of the "isn't the snow pretty" variety, but that got old pretty quickly. Between February 3rd (the snowstorm shown in the last post) and February 12th we had four, count 'em, FOUR snowstorms roll through the Puget Sound region.

At first it was fun. Mr. D and I went snowshoeing:

We went for walks to  the post office with a side trip to a cafe, wearing our Yaktrax on our feet.

As the temperature dropped, we observed ice in its various forms and locations:

But mostly, we just watched as the snow just kept coming down, and then cleaned up when it was all over.

There was one benefit from being snowed in for more than a week: lots of knitting time. Here's a sneak peek at one of the projects I worked on, and I'll be back with some of my snow knitting projects (and others) very soon.

Snow in Seattle

It started yesterday afternoon...

The temperature had dropped from about 41 degrees at noon to 32 degrees less than two hours later, and around that time the snow began.

Then it snowed, and snowed and snowed, and this morning that same little Japanese Maple looked like this:

Mr. D and I went for a walk this morning and enjoyed the silence and quiet beauty of a snowy morning.

Happy Winter!

Goodbye, Winter

Most people who don't live in Seattle think that winter here consists only of rain, rain and more rain. We do get a lot of rain during the winter, but in most winters much of that rain happens in late fall—November and December—and January is often cold, sometimes foggy, sometimes sunny, and yes, sometimes rainy. In most years, by the end of January we are seeing blooming crocuses and signs that daffodils and tulips will soon be popping up. By this point in February we usually see rhododendron buds swelling and some azaleas already in bloom.

This has not been an ordinary winter in Seattle. Yes, we got a lot of rain in late November and December. Yes, it was cold in January. But the big difference was that we also got snow, and not just the usual dusting or an inch or so that was gone in a day, but several inches of the stuff. And these snow events happened more than once, also an unusual phenomenon. 

Because this winter is almost over, I want to document and share with you some of the scenes from my local winter season.

The first snowstorm arrived in mid-December. It briefly added some atmosphere to the holiday season.

There wasn't any snow left for a white Christmas, but we had a dusting of snow on New Year's Eve. This is what my garden looked like on New Year's Day, and because temperatures were well below normal, that snow stayed around for almost all of the following week.

Those early-January temperatures created something else rarely seen: ice on the surface of Lake Washington.

A lot more precipitation arrived in February, but guess what? Some of that precipitation came as snow. The first snowstorm arrived on February 6th, and dumped about three inches into my garden. 

Another surprise snowstorm hit yesterday at dawn, and down came another two-plus inches of very heavy, wet snow. 

I actually love this type of winter, but I have had enough and want it to be over. And, by coincidence, it may be, because look what I spotted on my walk this morning:

Welcome, March! Happy Spring!

Traveling to the Land of Winter

As part of my 2015 goals, I promised that I would share more photography on the blog, and this will be one of those posts. Two weeks ago, I traveled to Minnesota, to see my college friends and my nephew in Minneapolis, and to attend the Knitajourney Midwinter Retreat in Duluth. I hear a lot of incredulous, "You're going to Minnesota in winter?" comments from my Seattle friends, but I love getting a taste of real winter on this trip. We have been sadly lacking any true winter weather this year in the Northwest, but going to Minnesota in January gives me my winter fix. So, enjoy my scenes from Minnesota, the Land of Winter!

Winter Sunset over Lake Calhoun

Perfectly Frosty Ice Lamps

Bare Trees and Winter Sky

A Cold Seat

Winter Apples

Winter Handknits

Roof Lines, with Snow

Winter, from the Air

Winter in the Pacific Northwest

A lot of people think that here in the Northwest, winter looks like this every day:

I will admit that sometimes winter looks very much like those photos, but this winter we have been treated to much more variety in our weather. Do you want to see? Take a look below:

Obviously, not just a succession of rainy days all winter long. But let's keep it our little secret, shall we?

Knitting in a Winter Wonderland

Have you been wondering where I've been? I've been absent from the blog for a couple weeks for a good reason: last weekend I attended the Knitajourney Mid-winter Retreat in Duluth, Minnesota. I know, I know, I can hear you already: "Minnesota in the winter? Are you crazy?" But I love Minnesota in all seasons. I spent 18 years and many Christmases and vacations of my life there, and in many ways I still consider it home. As a result, going there in the winter isn't as awful as it sounds.

That being said, it was pretty darn cold, and there was a lot of snow! This is the view from the second floor of the retreat house.

But the truth is that when you spend time in a cozy and beautiful house with a group of knitting friends, the cold doesn't really matter. This is our wonderful retreat house:

Here is the room I stayed in, and what I found next to my bed:

We ate very well:

Some of us went on a walk along the creek in the snow.

We went on a yarn crawl to two area yarn stores. One of them, Playing With Yarn, had more yarn per square foot than just about any yarn store I've ever been in. It also had a spectacular view of Lake Superior.

Mostly, what we did was knit and talk and enjoy the warmth of the fire and of our friendship.

Many thanks to Susan, Alison, Betsy, Laurie, Ceci, Ellen, Lisa and Lisa. You made the weekend perfect. Let's do it again next year!

Snow Days

It started with just a dusting, but over the next few days, it developed into a real winter storm. Here are some of the scenes from our rare Seattle snowstorm.