We got our first snow over the weekend here, just a dusting really, but it counts. It started on Friday as slushy rain, and on Saturday and Sunday we got spotty on and off snow that stuck to the grass and garden but didn't affect the streets, at least around here. On Monday morning, it was still hanging around out there, a perfect photo opportunity, so I took my camera out there to see what might make an interesting picture.
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| Snow on the grass in the back garden |
Can you see the path through the grass at the very top of the picture above? I didn't make that path after the snow fell, by walking through it. I made it last week, before the snow fell. I've been working on a project in the far back corner of the garden and walking back and forth over the grass, flattening it somewhat. Interestingly, this difference in the texture of the grass caused the snow not to stick in that area, creating what Nigel called "a fairy path."
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| Here you can see the "fairy path" much better |
This was early for such cold weather around here. According to the National Weather Service, this past weekend was the coldest weather for this time period in 44 years. The coldest day on record for the first week of November was 38 degrees on Nov. 6, 1945. The snow, while not record-breaking, was unusual. The Seattle area’s earliest measurable snowfall on record was Oct. 27, 1971.
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| Snow on oakleaf Hydrangea |
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| Water droplets and snow crystals on oakleaf Hydrangea |
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| The snow pancaked the Panicum |
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| Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with a snow cap |
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| Snow-laden Tetrapanax looking like a multi-headed dinosaur reaching its heads down to eat |
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| Snow melting on Tetrapanax |
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| Snow and water droplets glinting on pine |
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| Crystallized snow on Horstmann's Silberlocke Korean fir |
Strangely, we still haven't gotten a frost. The temperatures overnight, and while it was snowing, never actually went below freezing. All my frost-tender foliage like Dahlias and tuberous Begonias is still strong, lush and green. We might get a frost tonight, we'll see.
Now the snow is gone, completely melted, and the temperatures should go up to the 50s again by Wednesday.
