Brace for WINTER STORM LEON!!!

(Hello, random post out of nowhere!)

I tried not to get my hopes up for snow, this time, because last time they were oh-so-sure we were probably going to get snow, it failed to appear.  Evidently, I didn't do a good enough job of hope-suppression, though, because I'm disappointed that (at this moment) they're saying it'll probably be "wintery mix"... or sleet and freezing rain and maybe a few flurries.  Ok, maybe there'll still be snow, but it'll be ten miles to our north.  ;o) 

I'm charging the cameras, and I'll take photos of whatever we see.  Probably just ice, if anything.  Oh boy.  *sigh*

Apparently, The Weather Channel has named this weather event "Winter Storm Leon".  ...Leon?  Really?  I'm sure they have some system behind the names they assign, but... Leon?  I'm offended.  (I'm not really offended.  Just humorously miffed.)  The Northeast gets storms named Hercules and Janus.  The names of ancient pagan gods and/or demigods for every snow storm that blows through-- the kind of storms that Real Northerners would've yawned at, back before the media ushered in its Age of Hype and Hysterics.  (I was going to make fun of the goofy names, back when Janus was still around, but everyone else in the world beat me to the punch.)

So-- to get back to my point-- Northeastern storms are crowned with colossal names.  And yet, upon the approach of the first potentially significant winter weather event we've had in decades, the Gulf Coast gets measly little "Leon"-- reminiscent of that guy who gets his kicks hanging out at the local gas station for an hour or two in the mid-morning.  (No offense, all you Leons out there.)

Yeah, yeah, I know.  Northern snow storms are bigger and badder than ours-- but I defy any Northerner to provide a more dramatic (and entertaining) reaction to snow than your average born-and-bred Southerner.  We treat every single pathetic little melting flurry like the miracle it is, y'all.  We make snowflakes feel like "special snowflakes". 

...Ok, maybe not all of us.  But enough of us do.  Plus we have no experience driving in snow and ice... and our cars don't have snow-tires... and our cities don't have snow-plows or sanding/salting apparatuses...

Anyway.  All this fuss, and it'll probably just turn out to be a little cold rain!  (And yes, I'll be obsessively checking until all chance of snow is past.  With cameras at the ready!)

No Snow for YOU!

(And for the "Everyone Likely to Care About It Already Knows" category...) The Southeastern U.S. saw a little snow in the past few days.  Unfortunately, because the region so rarely does see snow, it only takes a little to make a huge mess on the roads and shut down airports.  On the other hand-- snow!

If you grew up in a place that sees snow frequently-- or at least not infrequently-- you probably can't appreciate how absolutely bonkers a born and bred Southerner can go over a few snowflakes.  It feels magical-- has the ability to turn most adults back into a child for an hour or two.  Visions of snowball fights and (very small) snowmen dance through our heads.

Of course, since we live so very far south, it feels like we never see snow.  And we didn't this time, either.

I wasn't disappointed this time, at least, because I'd  never had hope that we would-- unlike last time, when it felt like all the weathermen and -women were fairly promising snow... and then it just DISAPPEARED OFF THE RADAR, right before it got down to us.  (No, I'm serious.  Some of us were furious and/or heartbroken.  They had snow in our county, even.  Why couldn't it have managed to snow a little on us, too? *teardrop*) 

Well, anyway... After the emotional scarring of that incident-- returning again and again to gaze out the window, hoping, hoping, thinking for one startled second "was that a flake?!" and then realizing that no, no it wasn't-- I determined to never believe the weather forecast as regards snow.  For whatever reason, we hardly ever get precipitation when the temperature is below freezing, down here.  So no snow for us! 

(Now I sit and imagine all the people who have months of heavy snow-shoveling and miserable slogging through cold, slushy snow still ahead of them before they see spring... reading this... and trying to curb the impulse to whip out some bitter remark for the comments section...)

Snow, Vicariously

While we were snubbed by the Snow Fairy (or whatever it is that brings snow ;o)), Donald's family in Sweden have been dealing with lots of it.

Check out the snow in Ingela's photos on her blog and at Flickr. 

...Wow.  Can you just imagine all the snowmen you could make... all the snowball fights you could have?  (Not to mention the headache of traveling from Point A to Point B!)

When Donald spoke with Jocke a few days ago, he said that on the road from town to Donald's parents' place-- not just their private driveway-road, as I first thought, but the main road-- the snow was piled up five feet high on both sides.  Probably not a good time or place to have car problems.

The Closest Thing. . .

Here's the closest thing we'll get to seeing snow this Christmas. . . ;o) 

Ingela posted some photos of beautiful snowy landscapes around Säffle-- and yummy homemade Swedish Christmas treats, as well! 

At least we can enjoy the snow vicariously (and not even have to deal with messy roads)!

Not another video. . . ?! (yes.)

Sorry for all the not-a-real-blog-post blog-posts, lately. (g)

Here's another video of clips Donald filmed in Sweden, for anyone who may be interested. :o)


Lake Vänern, Sweden from Michael Johansson on Vimeo.

Snow at Sandmon

Snow at Sandmon from Michael Johansson on Vimeo.

Above is a video I made with a few of Donald's recordings of snow in Sweden, taken in January.

We're still learning the basic ins and outs of videoing-- not to mention video editing. Apologies for the blurriness caused by too much panning...

The video starts out with a detail shot of some snow-laced branches.

The view then shifts to a pan from Donald's parents' carport/garage, past his maternal grandmother's house, and onward to a large pile of tree limbs that will eventually be taken away by the company that harvested some of their trees.

Finally, we get a peek at Lake Vänern's icy shores.

I think there are some more snowy video clips to share, too-- maybe later today or tomorrow. :o)