SNOWBALLS IN APRIL

I'm told that somewhere in this great and vast land there is a possibility of snowballs being formed this month.

But, thanks to my great wisdom, not where I live.

Instead, this is the closest I've had to snowballs in April.

Oh, I know. They don't look much like snowballs in that picture. But when I was enjoying a wee cocktail on my patio yesterday evening and the wind was blowing the branches around, they did resemble snowballs.

Now many years ago . . . wait . . . it's scores of years ago . . . actually decades ago, I lived in the barren land of snow and ice known as North Dakota. And when I was a bit of a lad it was not unknown for there to be snow in April. In fact, I can remember my mother telling about a blizzard one year on her birthday. And she was born on June 6th!

That's mom and I on a wintry day though I doubt it was on her birthday.

And what idiot left the front door open??!!

On those blissful (remember, ignorance is bliss) days of our youths, it fell to my older brother and I to shovel snow off the sidewalk in front of our house.

As you can see by this photograph, I am practicing my management skills by directing Wayne (the brother) where to put the snow. (He was probably thinking of telling me where to put my advice!)

But wait a second. This is beginning to resemble a Throwback Thursday post and that wasn't my intention.

So let's take a closer look at that snowball tree in our backyard.

The tree is known as a Red Tip Photinia, though you'd be hard pressed to explain that given this picture, covered as it is with snowy white blossoms.

Another look, though, may give you a hint.

Eventually those blossoms will fall away and what will be left is a tree with leaves that turn a deep reddish color. Hence, the red tip monicker.

I have no idea what Photinia means.

But I know this is about as close as I want to get to snowballs these days.

HOT - COLD

Readers of a certain age or those of you who are fans of gangsters movies of the 30's or 40's will recognize the term "the hot seat".  It's a euphemism for the electric chair which ended the life of do-badders.

Let me now introduce you to "the cold seat".

It's not a place one would readily choose to sit.  Here's a slightly bigger view.

It shows you what happens when your lazy correspondent fails to take his deck chairs into shelter when he knows . . HE KNOWS . . that the weatherman is going to bring snow.

Today, the weather was moving away from us.

As the clouds and the rain or snow move to the north and east, over the Black Hills, over Mingus Mountain, still dropping more moisture, it leaves us with blue skies and a great view in the sky.

And, one of these days, I'll take my deck chairs in.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Here's one for the files.  This is what it looked like in my neighborhood yesterday afternoon.

And . . for all of you folks who wish you could have just one more taste of winter . . here's what it looks like outside this morning.  In Arizona!



LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW . . . UP NORTH!

For those of you concerned about the old Catalyst's weather, here's the real dope.  The heavy snow was in the mountains around Prescott and about 80 miles away where Flagstaff got around a foot.  But here?  Just a dusting.



It did rain much of yesterday but it only turned to snow around 9 or 10 last night and then moved off.  So, while it's chilly and wet outside, very little snow.



A WINTERY DAY

Glassford Hill, above and back of the Granite Dells.

Sunny skies today but not very warm (in the low 30's).  But around my home, the snow and ice was melting.

Meantime, one old member of the family was still grumpy about the snow and the cold.



AN (EARLY) WINTRY DAY

Just to take a little joy out of yesterday's photos, here's another one that I also shot yesterday.  Looking west toward Prescott is a near white-out.

But, as the old expression goes, if you don't like the weather just wait ten minutes and it will change.  This, also, was taken yesterday.

That's Glassford Hill in the distance, the Granville subdivision in the foreground.

It was 32 degrees when I got up this morning but the sun is once again shining, the temperature is climbing and all this snow is either gone or should be before the day is out.  Thank goodness for small favors, eh?

In other news, I have a new internet service provider as of late yesterday afternoon.  Whereas my old provider promised me 1.5 megabytes per second but rarely delivered it, my new one comes to me at between 40 and 50 Mbs.  Quite a difference.  But I'm finding it has caused a problem for me.  What used to take me 4 or 5 hours is now over and done with in about an hour.  What am I supposed to do with all this extra time?

Slouching into May Day

Ah, May Day!

A day of revolution.

Of parades.

Of spring!

And of spring flowers!

Unfortunately, in Denver, Colorado, the tulips were coated with snow today as a storm moved across the state.

(Pictures courtesy . . . oh, o.k., they were swiped . . . from the KUSA-TV web site. Thanks guys.)