When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
A full moon in the sky and snow still falling is
winter night's answer to a summer rainbow.
Snow in the Oregon Valley! Much like the above excerpt from "Twas the Night Before Christmas" we were just hanging out when we heard this huge muffled plompf.
We thought some of the materials in the staging area might have blown over in the wind so we opened the door to check and were stunned to see a layer of snow covering everything in sight! Did it all fall at once? Was that what we heard?
Plompf, here's your snow!
Snow on rosemary?
So we played in it! We helped the neighbor kids make some snowballs and wrote each other's names in the street...
See the happy face?
The next morning was damage assessment in the staging area. The swirling wind allowed the snowflakes to drift everywhere. The entire staging area under the carport was covered in snow.
Among those freshly dusted are the finished wood pieces I lovingly placed out of reach from the rain,
the ever-so-important shop-vac (soooo in love with you, shop-vac), some unfinished stained glass, and countless other sundries.
Below is a good shot of the staging area from the backyard. That random piece of fence lends a little Western attitude to the snow doesn't it? Yep, we're rugged individualists.
The snow stayed all day. In fact it snowed all day. Swirls of gentle flakes drifting down from the sky. It felt like the inside of a snow-globe.
The snow was powdery - very unlike the characteristic wet snow we get here. f course, we only get that characteristic wet snow ON THE MOUNTAINS but I'm not complaining. It was a winter wonderland of a quaint Oregon town.
Our neighbors heat their house with a wood stove so every time we walk outside it smells like the most clean-burning campfire. Total hot chocolate craving.
Below is another night-time photo of Bessie in the snow. Thankfully all of the panels are freshly sealed and waterproof!
The next photo is one of my favorites. It may be hard to see depending on your screen since it's a night-time silhouette (Seriously, who takes pics like that? Moi l'artiste, that's who punk!).
She's lit by the moon with a layer of snow on top. With that twinkle of green light in her eye she looks like a spaceship, doesn't she?
(Dammit Jim, I'm an Airstream not a spaceship!)
Also among my favorites is the next one. A closer view shows a couple of interesting details.
1) Not only does Bessie wear her snow like a crown but in the reflection off her window - her street view - you can see her towing partner, Battlecat. In the snow, Battlecat looks like a white van but she's a 3/4 ton golden F-150 with 10 tons of heart.
2) In the top right corner of the photo you can see her solar panel smothered in snow. Follow the wiring on the blue column if you can't see the solar panel on the roof. Clearly one disadvantage of solar power is a blanket of snow.
And one final shot of the happy Oregon home where all the love and magic happens!
Did I mention I didn't go to work today?
