Winter Arrives

This weekend brought us our first real proof of winter in St. Louis, mild temperatures driven out as the Arctic air pushed in.

I did not venture outdoors into the 10ºF (-12ºC) garden, but instead chose to use the long lens to show you what these temperatures mean to me from indoors. The water barrel in the front yard has a birdbath heater in it so stays iceless -- the edge gets so frosty though!

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Saturday started mild and wet, but the rain started turning to big clumps of snowflakes midmorning:

This would have been the kind of snowfall you'd want to stand outside in, looking up into the endless sea of fluffy flakes...

...except for the fact that there was still rain mixed in and you would have gotten quite wet. I suppose when I was younger that wouldn't have mattered, but I wouldn't have been holding an expensive camera back then...

Temperatures continued to fall all day Saturday, and Sunday morning brought the coldest yet of this winter:

My thermometer fell into this pot so I don't trust the relative humidity readings, although the temperature is accurate enough for me -- I suppose it could be a bit colder further from the house.

The coldest weather always means clear skies, so blue:

Just a cloud or two:

Sunshine not making much difference outdoors, although the brightness almost burns your eyes...

...while indoors there's definitely some burning happening:

We're in for a bit of a weather roller coaster this week, as temps will get back up to 53º F (11ºC) later this week then drop again.

Will the pond stay frozen? Will the ground turn muddy again?

I suppose I'd take a soggy, muddy walk around the garden if it meant that temps were staying above freezing for much of the time. The cold sure does make things pretty though!

Anybody else experience a cold snap this past weekend?

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