Last week, they were forecasting snow on the weekend followed by bitter cold by Monday. I decided to take Monday off work, since being outside when the wind chill was going to be well below zero, didn’t sound like a lot of fun.

They predicted rain Saturday night, turning to snow towards morning with accumulations of less than an inch…

That part, they got a little wrong. We got about four inches, but it was already melting when we got up.

Before it was even fully light outside, we went tromping out with the dogs. We don’t know if Paddy had ever seen snow before, he would have been just a baby when last year’s snow came.  We figured he’d be a bit prissy about it, since he hates rain. But he LOVED the snow. Within minutes, the entire yard was full of tracks as he zoomed around and around with manic glee.

And of course, the snow had to be tasted. Repeatedly. Paddy consumed an unknown but large quantity of it.

By the end of the day it turned cold, and by Sunday it was really too cold to be outside.

Some of the critters found other ways to stay amused…

But others got pretty bummed about it:

Happily, a large cardboard box appeared in the utility room just for Calvin.

Monday really was nasty. Nothing to do but stay inside and birdwatch through the patio door windows..

Bluebird on the roof

Pair of bluebirds on our feeder

Pileated woodpecker on grandpa maple.

I expected the dogs to want to stay in, but with the exception of Cricket (who is horrified by the weather) they are pretty much dealing with it.

For some, having built in fuzzy earmuffs must help.

Only half of the original snow melted before the deep freeze hit, so five days later it’s still here. Today was supposed to be the first day above freezing, but its after 2 PM and only 27 degrees, so that apparently isn’t going to happen. Tomorrow ‘freezing rain’ is in the works for morning.

It’s not even officially winter yet, but I’ve officially had enough.