Ah, Yes! Spring in Michigan!

I'd like to welcome you to the first day of Spring!!!  Whoo-hoo!!

Wait, what?  You mean there isn't supposed to be SNOW on the ground or flying through the air on the first day of spring??  What?  It was 50 degrees WARMER on this exact day LAST year??

Well, this year, we have a Lake Effect "Winter System" moving through.  Yup.  That, my friends, is the JOY of living 20 miles from Lake Michigan.

You can actually SEE a LARGE snowflake in front of the shrub in this picture.  Thankfully, the sun came out yesterday afternoon and melted the snow on the road.  I'm sure the commute this morning may have been a bit dicey, especially for those of "us'ns" that live in the MIDDLE OF EGYPT.

And just so I can end on a happier note, here is my Easter cake that I made that I had to practice to make sure it wasn't going to suck be icky.  It's yummy.  IF you like 20 pounds of sugary goodness and pastel colors, that is. {wink wink}  But seriously, it's cream cheese frosting, and it's homemade.  How bad can it be??

Holy Snow Batman!

We knew it was coming eventually!

Outside my front window

Yes, Virginia, It DOES snow sideways!

Jacob is in little boy heaven.  He LOVES the snow!

Even the dogs were running around like crazy fools!

There is a phenomenon where we live called "lake effect" snow.  Basically, when really, really cold air comes either down from the north or from the west it crosses one of the Great Lakes.  The water of the lake is warmer than the air, and this creates what they call lake effect snow.

Basically, what that means is that when it's super cold and windy, and the wind is from the north or west, we get a boatload of snow.  (See above).  And MY house happens to sit at the end of a "snow belt."  If you saw it on a weather map, it would look like a finger reaching across from the lake to directly over MY house.  We live south and west of town, closer to the lake.  So WE can get a foot, and Doug's work, in the city (town), can get 4 inches.

Yes, I'm serious.

So I am going NOWHERE for days.  It's SO cold.  Windchill is probably at zero or below.  I was supposed to go to the dentist today, but this frigid air going straight to my lungs?  No thanks.  Especially after just getting over pneumonia.

So.  What's it like in your neck of the woods??

Talk About Winter Wonderland!

If you've heard the term "lake effect snow" but never seen it, here you go: MY house happens to be at the very end of a tiny "banana belt" of a snow band that always gets THE most snow.

The left side of the picture is the opposite side of my road. Um, yes, there IS a road under there. Somewhere. We often go unplowed for a day or two.

Jacob LOVES to play in the snow! Daddy gets to go out and play too, and this is Blackie's first time in the snow. They are playing "keep-away" with snowballs! Blackie's trying to catch them.


The side yard: the mulberry tree and the chicken coop. You can bet the chickens are tucked snugly in their straw!

Jacob looks like he's winning!

My favorite: the red, rosy cheeks of just coming in from the cold. Four year old Jacob, my handsome little man.

Just FYI, we're up to about 18 inches in less than 24 hours, and it's not supposed to stop til at least 11:00 tomorrow morning. Yee-ha!