Oh. My. Snow.

The last time snow was threatened in the valley, we were promised a blizzard, the likes of which would make our heads spin. The promise was left unfulfilled, however, when we woke up to maybe 1/2" of snow dusting the roadways and visibility for miles. There was, perhaps, plenty of eye rolling in lieu of the head spins. And that was just last week.

So imagine our astonishment when the 2" of snow the forecasters casually mentioned might fall Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning actually became a nightmarish 8-10" in a snowstorm that seemed to NEVER end. Can you say SNOW DAY? Vehicles were stuck everywhere. Including Clarke's pickup. The sound of shovels continually scarping sidewalks permeated the otherwise deafening quiet of the falling snow. Sadly, not even the shovels could keep up. I remember growing up with very snowy winters, but it's been a long while since we've seen snow tantamount to what plagued the valley yesterday. However, true to form, I loaded up my camera and headed outside to document a storm that has been called one of the 10 worst in the Boise's history.

At 8 a.m. the snow in our backyard was about 5-6 inches deep. And it continued to snow...

Here's the view out our front door. Snow was blowing through the front door as I tried to snap this shot!

There were also impressive snow drifts delicately sliding from the roof, as if daring someone to walk beneath  it.

By 8:00, Brock was in his snowsuit and hat--ready for a very long day  of outdoor slipping and sliding and snowballs and snow forts.

Knee deep in our front yard!

At the rate the snow was falling, catching a flake on one's tongue was a rather easy task--and particularly appealing to people who thoroughly enjoy the taste of snow, like Brock, for instance, who was couldn't eat enough of the stuff. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures.

Mesmerized...

Sticky snow. The very best kind.





On Tuesday night, one of our maple trees still had all it's leaves. As soon as mother nature turned off the snow yesterday, the leaves began to fall. RIP picturesque, little leaf.

Cutting down a sunflower stalk isn't as easy as it sounds--so we save that task for our spring cleanup--and besides they make lovely "subjects" when it snows. 

Thankfully our record snowfall gave way to a balmy 40 degrees and with the effort of snow plows and de-icer, the roads are now drivable, which is a tremendous relief to people like me...who'd rather be lounging on a white sand beach in Hawaii when it snows in Idaho.