Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Winter Sunrise

We're experiencing something this week that we've never experienced since we've lived here - a true January thaw! We're talking temps in the 30's, blue skies - and it hasn't snowed since Friday! We're holding steady at 156" for the time being. Yeah, we can't believe it either! 

We needed to run some errands in Houghton this week and decided to get an early start that day. I was grabbing my jacket from the closet in the foyer when I happened to notice this through the front door.

A winter sunrise! We were able to enjoy more of it on the way down Hwy. 41, as it made the snow on the cliffs look pink.

My favorite shot, however, was the one I snapped through the open front door before we left home.

I love it when the Lord gives us unexpected treats like that!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Underneath a Cloudless Sky

Love, love, love days like yesterday. . .

and today.

Sunshine - 74° - not a smidgen of humidity - not a cloud in the sky. OK, there's a tiny cloud in the first 2 photos, but it didn't stick around long.

I can't stop singing "Dwelling in Beulah Land" today!

I’m living on the mountain underneath a cloudless sky,

I’m drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;

O yes, I’m feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,

For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Contrast

Happy Leap Day!

Steve's in Calumet for a doctor's appt. today. I'm nursing another headache - doing my best to stay vertical - but I wanted to show you my view. After a very blustery morning, we had a brief hue hiccup before returning to monochrome.

Less than an hour apart. Beautiful either way. See ya in March!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Crash Landing

So, yeah, we're not crazy about El Niño. We prefer snow. This warmer weather brought us a rain/sleet/wet snow combo that added extra weight to the trees. That extra weight combined with our strong northeast winds this morning caused 5 of our trees to topple. Unfortunately, the biggest one landed on our barn.

You know you've got trouble when you enter the barn and you can see daylight above you. We have several holes and some broken trusses. 

That's why we have insurance, right? The claims adjuster is coming on Friday, and we already had the crew here to remove the tree and put a temporary patch on the roof to prevent further damage. We're under a lake effect snow watch that is sure to turn into a warning soon. They're now saying we could have an additional foot or more on the ground by Friday afternoon.

We may have had a domino effect with 3 of the trees. It looks like the big one fell, and it hit the top of this tree on the other side of the barn before it actually hit the barn.

The second tree then fell - just missing the panel box. I believe that's when we had a brief power glitch.

As the second tree was falling, the top of it hit a third tree - causing the third tree to fall.

Dominos, but not as fun. Bad, bad El Niño. We're not going to let him steal our joy!

(Further inspection revealed 8 broken trusses!)

All else is well in the Keweenaw.

Wait 5 Minutes

You know what they say:
If you don't like the weather in Michigan, wait 5 minutes; it'll change.

That's more true in the Keweenaw than anywhere else I've ever lived - especially in the spring and fall. It's not uncommon to experience huge temperature changes in a matter of hours. We can also go from rain - to snow - to rain - to abundant sunshine - to complete cloud cover - all in one day. . . like we did on Saturday.

The day started out with an overcast sky followed by a little snow, then light rain. It cleared up for a bit, and then this happened.

Steve said those were the biggest snowflakes he ever remembers seeing. Later, we were treated to this.

Yeah, we thought it was going to stay that way, but then we noticed this happening.

And. . . finally. . . the sun began to set. . .

and we were given a cotton candy pink cloud mixed in with all the gray.

These photos were taken over the course of 6 hours on Saturday. By the time we went to bed that night, the sky was clear enough to see every star in the sky.

All is well in the Keweenaw.