Frozen water!

It's been snowing for almost six hours - our big snowfall of the year! It rained most of yesterday and this morning, so the bulk of the snow melted as soon as it touched the ground when it first arrived, but there has been so much falling that some of it is actually settling and accumulating.

It never fails to amaze me how fluffy and dry snow looks from a distance. Then you get outdoors and remember that it's actually clumps and shavings of ice, not cotton wool. It's still fun to be in, though. Bruce and I went for a walk around the block with the dogs just now, because the snow was falling thick and fast. Belle did not look very pleased at first and hung back - I'm sure she thought we were insane! But then she seemed to decide that it was actually nice to be outdoors with the funny white stuff and perked up. We had planned to turn back when we reached the end of the street we were on, but Belle stopped and kept looking up at the next street, apparently feeling we hadn't enjoyed nature long enough. So on we went - except that this time, the snow was flying directly into our faces like kamikaze pilots in miniature ice planes. We were bombarded for a few minutes until we turned onto our street, then the snow was behind us once more and all was well with the world.

Right now, the streets are slushy but drivable. Tonight, however, temperatures are expected to drop below freezing, down to 27 Fahrenheit early tomorrow morning. That could mean ice on the roads, which in turn will mean a bunch of nervous motorists inching along and still managing to get into accidents.

But for now, the world is pretty and dreamlike.

Now I'm in the mood for ice kacang!