We had a terrific snow/wind storm on the night of December 22nd. All in all, not much snow accumulation, only 3" if that. But the wind! Oh, my. Supposedly gusts of 70 mph were recorded. No downed tree damage for us, but we did have wood stove chimney damage.
Of the three wood stove chimneys on the roof, two were affected. The stove pipe on the stove in the heated part of our attached garage lost its cap. No big problem there. But the complete chimney on the wood stove in the kitchen went down. When Papa Pea went up on the roof to survey the damage, he found the whole roof covered with glaze ice. Ugh. Carefully crawling where he had to go, he made temporary repairs which he feels are quite safe until conditions change and he can secure the chimney with guy wires to insure this doesn't happen again.
The storm left a drift of snow at least two feet high, maybe more, along the south side of the house. This meant I needed to shovel it off the deck (we keep this clear all winter as a safety precaution in the event we wouldn't be able to get out of the back door for some reason) and walkway for a good distance. I was very thankful the snow was light and not the heavy, wet stuff. But, yes, my lower back was a smidge bit ouchy and grouchy before bed that night.
The blowing snow made the wreath on our (protected, if you can believe it) back/main door picture card perfect.
The morning after the storm, Papa Pea was out on the tractor moving drifts of snow when Chicken Mama and her little charge stopped by to open a couple of presents. He LOVES big machinery of all kinds and begs to sit on the tractor at times even when it's in the shed and not moving.
Chicken Mama had a new fox suit for him (He's outgrown the old one that he dearly loves). Here she's reading him the Little Blue Truck book we gave him. The series of Little Blue Truck books are great for little ones. Especially if they like trucks, bulldozers, tractors, dump trucks, etc.!
I'll close with a picture of the mints dear daughter made for me at Christmas. Each year she makes her dad "healthy" Mounds bar candies and when asked if there was a candy I'd enjoy, I told her some nights after dinner I'd like just a wee little mint to end the meal. She came up with these and they are WONDERFUL as witnessed by the immediate taste testing. The good news is that there is a double layer in the tin.
Hope you're all able to enjoy this coming week between Christmas and New Year's. Stay warm, safe and healthy. Sending hugs.