Day 13.342: Clobbered

After predicting for several days that this storm was going to pass to our south, we did get about a day's warning that we were going to get clobbered.

I decided to work from home as the roads looked decidedly dicey and it was still coming down pretty hard:

The Accuweather app was sending mixed messages - predicting 6-10 inches and also that it was going to snow for two day's straight and amount to nearly four feet:

The reality when all was said and done around 5 pm was about 15 inches of light fluffy snow to show off the lights and enhance the Christmassy look of the neighborhood:

Day 13.341: Chasing; adventure

Last two pictures from our chilly walk on the beach. We watched this gull-chase for quite a while. We couldn't see what they were fighting over but guessed (correctly as it turns out that it was about food):

As we walked huddled in coats, hats and enjoying the cheek-warming from our pandemic masks, we all agreed that this adventurous person was possibly going one or two steps too far:

Day 13.340: Roaming bubbles and stationary waves

Curiously, at the beach on Saturday, these bubbles seemed to have somewhere they needed to go to:

whereas these waves were staying quite still:

Day 13.339: We all went to the beach

It was a slight surprise when our declaration of intent to go to the beach after lunch on Saturday with whoever wanted to come was met with a 100% take-up rate.

It was chilly and windy, but we dressed appropriately and had a very nice walk:

Masks keep your face warm in addition to their other protections.

Day 13.338: Exile #2's Sunday Column #326

Exile #2 writes...

It’s been a misty and wet few days. This has helped clear away much of the snow from last weekend’s storm. Just as well, because we may get a top up by the end of the week. The clouds did, however, also prevent a potential viewing of the aurora borealis earlier this week, and the Geminid meteor shower tonight.

We still hold out hope of seeing Jupiter and Saturn forming the so called Christmas star, though, when the skies clear out again. Exile #4 first spotted them a few weeks ago on the way back from collecting the mail. We consulted this handy little website to see what they were.

Since then we’ve been keeping an eye on them.

Day 13.337: Mince pies and mulled wine?

If you insist!

Exile #2 made them, but I helped out by enjoying them!

Christmas does bring out the Britishness in the household.

Day 13.336: Birding mystery

A flock of cedar waxwings is not an uncommon sight on these trees outside my workplace, so it was reasonable to think that's what these were as I arrived back from lunch - but they are not. 

They are reddish and have V-shaped tails and black wings with white bars, so I think they may be pine grosbeaks but my cellphone photos do not make identification easy.