Moving Around

The snow gives a different look to the landscape in Carroll County. We moved around a little bit yesterday, but made sure to be home before it got dark. While the roads are getting clear, the melting snow freezes at dusk and there is a lot of black ice. The snow is also melting on buildings and there are a lot of icicles hanging around. I captured some water dropping from the house. Things are starting to get back to normal if that is possible. The local newspaper was delivered yesterday for the first time in three days, in a clear plastic bag. Hopefully the neighbors will see their paper after the plows go through. This morning as I walked around I saw a couple jogging. Since you are struck close to home this weekend, why not take part in the annual bird count. You can get the information at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/. If you venture out, you will encounter delays as plows and front loaders are trying to open all the roads. You have to love that late afternoon light.

Beautiful Morning

I have said before this winter, there is nothing like the morning after a snow storm. I went out early this morning before sunrise. The birds were already waiting for me, so I fed them before starting on a walk. I strolled down Bartholow Road and was able to see the sunrise, which is captured in some of the images. I heard a noise on the road and turned around and here came the county plows cleaning the road. They turned on to Cherry Tree lane where the snow was still drifting. If you wonder how deep the snow is look at the image of one of the neighbors using a snow blower. You can only see their head shoulders over the snow, which is our front yard. Eldersburg like most folks in Carroll and Maryland are digging out. Getting the roads and driveways cleaned seems to be the easy part, getting the mailboxes dug out is another matter.

There's nothing like that early morning light, accept the late afternoon light.

Three-Alarm Fire

A three-alarm fire struck the Sykesville Fire Department this morning. The first call was for a roof collapse and was up graded to a building fire as a gas line was broken. The fire was in the social hall and area fire departments worked to keep the fire from the engine bay. Ian and Becca were able to get out and shoot these images. It is hard to move around with the snow and the fire fighters had problems finding hydrant. There were units on the scene from Carroll, Baltimore, Howard and Frederick counties. I believe this is the second time a Sykesville fire house has caught fire. In the 1960s when the fire department was on Main Street in Sykesville it caught fire. A big thank you to the Barry's for the images.

Blizzard of 2010

Boy, what a month and winter. When I first went out this morning to clean the driveway it was 29 degrees. The last time I went out at 4 p.m. it was down to 23 degrees and not to mention the wind. It was hard to use the snow blower with the wind whipping the snow around. You were soon covered with snow and it probably looked like Frosty the snowman was cleaning our driveway. I will next use the snow blower in the morning. When you come inside your cheeks are rosey and you can't wait for a hot cup of tea. There are some images in this post that have been shot in past blogs to get a sense of the amount of snow we have gotten in Eldersburg. You can see how deep it is by the dog walking through the snow. I measured 23 inches the last time I was outside. I get a kick out of the squirrels. I went to go outside and there was a squirrel poking his head out of a tunnel. They dug a tunnel in the December storm. The birds take turns going to the bird feeders and stage in the bushes. Shirley made a yummy pot roast for dinner, which was great on a day like today.