Winter Wonderland

It continued to snow for about thirty minutes after I made the video from the previous post. We'd get a few minutes of flurries every now and again, but it wasn't developing into the big arctic blast heralded by the news. Then, as the sun was setting around 3:45 or so, snow began falling thick and fast.

This is a shot taken through my kitchen window. I needed the streetlight to illuminate the large and furiously falling snowflakes.

The snowfall lasted for a good thirty to forty minutes and left a blanket of snow on the ground. It snowed again when Steve got home from work. He suggested we take a walk after dinner. These are the photos I snapped of the aftermath. 

This is the section of our fence that was damaged by the gale force winds.

Looking up our driveway toward the road.

Our bird feeders in the front garden.

Our back patio. Look at the accumulation!

Our patio was nicely covered.

We have all these branches sticking out of the top of our hedge. The birds like sitting on them, so we've left them for the time being. The snow makes them look like cotton plants.

The leyland cypress by our driveway.

Our front gate.

Looking back toward our garage.

Steve and I spent about an hour wandering around our neighborhood. Although it was only about 7 p.m., there was little activity. We guessed people were hunkered down inside for the night. With the exception of a about five or six cars, a few people walking their dogs, and some teenagers having a snowball fight in a field, we were the only people out and about.

This is a tree in our neighborhood.

A pristine scene. 

My lone set of footprints in the snow (Steve was walking in the street).

Snow makes trees so much more beautiful.

The oncoming car is going to ruin the untouched snow on the intersection.

The snow was a bit deeper here.

I was using my iPhone to take photos, so the moon isn't as pretty here as it looked it person.

We walked by Lochardil House Hotel, where we lived for a month. We figured the back garden would look lovely encased in snow and we were right.

The teenagers were nearby playing in the snow. One of them had made a rather impressive snow angel.

We walked through a field where the snow was a lot deeper!

Someone has begun a snowman and Steve tried to continue it, but the snow was so dry the ball fell apart.

I just thought this house looked so pretty with the glow of lights from within and the blanket of snow on the shrubs in the front garden.

The next day, much of the snow had disappeared. We're not sure why. It hadn't rained. And the temperature was low. I was so glad we had gone for that walk. Otherwise I would have missed seeing and enjoying the pristine snow.

See how the birds are sitting in the branches?

Later in the day, the snow started coming down in massive flakes. It didn't last long enough to freshen the blanket very much, but it was pretty to watch.

The snowflakes were finally big enough to catch the cats' attention. They were fascinated by the falling snow.

The snow only last a couple of days. The temperatures are back in the mild range, with our highs for the next few days forecast to be in the low 50s (Fahrenheit). I'm sure we'll have more snow down the line. For now I'll just fondly remember our first real snowfall in Scotland.