April Snow

Snow on the fence
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

It's snowed all morning today. A light snow. Not enough to snarl up traffic or completely cover the new growth of grasses and shoots on the ground. It's windy enough that the snow is sticking to the side of our fence. I think the snow has finally stopped falling for the time being (it's mid-afternoon), and it's warmed up to 37°F (3°C), but the wind still has an un-springlike bite to it, with a windchill in the high 20°s F.

I put some food out for the squirrels again today. The buds on the trees are being really slow to pop because of the weather, and the squirrels count on those buds for their spring salad bar. They were wandering around the empty food dish, looking annoyed by its emptiness.

I've been out running around today, doing errands and going to the Craftstravaganza at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. I've been warm enough all day, despite the wind and snow. Now I'm inside on the couch, typing, and I'm freeeeezing. Go figure.

I took a couple of photos of the crafts I saw today. You can see them on my flickr page here.

Only in Minnesota do you get 76 degrees, an inch of rain, severe thunderstorm warnings, and a possible foot of snow in 24 hours. ~ Paul Huttner, April 25, 2008, Updraft

It's cold. Yup. It's cold.

It's good and cold out there. NOAA says the current air temp is -11°F (-24°C), with a wind chill of -26°F (-32°C). The sun is bright and the sky is blue, and there are squirrel footie prints in the snow all over the deck.

I put out a plate of food for the squirrels, and they're starting to come to check it out. The bird feeders in the neighbor's yard has been attracting chickadees, and they're singing out to one another.

Needless to say, the kitties are very happy to see all the critter activity outside the window. They're sitting in sunbeams and watching squirrels. Kitty heaven.

Catrina on Squirrel Patrol

Catrina on Squirrel Patrol
Originally uploaded by Pockafwye

Working from home one last day. Might've gone in today, as I'm nearing ready to entering a bunch of data into our database, which is slower over the vpn. But I started antibiotics yesterday for what might be strep (culture isn't back, definitely an infection of some kind) and I don't want to be near a pregnant co-worker until we know I'm not contagious.

Meanwhile, There are about 5 squirrels outside as I type this. They're fighting over the dish of corn outside the window.

The cats have been taking turns making sure the squirrels don't come inside. It must be a big deal having squirrels by the window, to make it worth interrupting the kittons' mid-day naps.

Zabartik tried to dig his way through the window for a few minutes. The squirrels were not impressed. He stalked away in what looked like a huff before I got out the camera. He's back now, watching them again, but the camera has been put away so I can get back to work. (edit: I did eventually pull the camera back out and take some shots of Zabster, too, but later on in the afternoon.)

Catrina has long since given up trying to actually reach the squirrels. She watches intently, but with none of the agitation the other cats display.