Freezing Winds & Snow

Opening that door this morning in the dark for the first time reminded me of the winters spent in Indiana, where the bloodhounds wanted to go for a walk through the field and Heidi hanging back inside to sleep. The only difference was the temperature. It felt freezing at 28° at 5am but that was nothing compared to the single digit temps we use to walk in. I know it's winter here but I want spring. I moved to get away from stuff like today ... although it was actually pretty nice to see from a distance.

From the looks of the planter, Henry has been eating more dirt than I suspected. I will have to clean that white part after it warms up. I will be interested to see if the cacti survives last night's snow.

I only took this to prove to some friends back in Indiana that it really does snow here as it does elsewhere in Arizona. I did drive down to spend some time at the bicycle shop thinking it couldn't be that busy today. Their phone rang off the hook and as I walked out an hour later, customers were walkimg in. I did not head out to explore in the snow today. I have driven in worse weather so it wasn't my driving I was concerned about. It's the other people that may not be used to icy slick roads and reports of sliding through intersections kept me close to home.

The bulldog statue guaded his corner preventing the pups from digging in that area. He didn't seem to mind the snow falling this morning. As you can see, there were no mountains to see this morning. We really needed this snow for our water supply  and it was good to feel the soft ground under my shoes as I walked out to the fence.

Henry will go anywhere there is food involved but Walter knows when it is freezing cold outside and he let me know under no uncertain terms that he was NOT going back outside to take photos in the snow.

Although the snow was melting this afternoon as temps barely moved higher than 32°, it sure did look like it was continueing to snow up where we were yesterday. Coronado National Park on Facebook announced that they had closed Carr Canyon road at the gate for the rest of the season. Normal for winter, just a little later than last year.

An hour later the sun came out filling the skies with blue and I could see through my 300mm zoom lens just how low the snow was in the mountains. Quit a change from just a couple of days ago. 

The dog was happy to see some sunshine ... he does his job well.

I had to talk Walter into going out into the yard to pee. He had been holding out all day because that wet frozen rocks this morning was just not his favorite thing to walk on.

The Huachuca's going right to left was covered in snow. I will keep my eye out for the water fall but I am told that does not happen every year.

Henry really didn't mind the snow, or the freezing temps. He is really laidback for a 7 month old basset. He loves being outside. So much in fact, last night I did not realize that he had snuck out the door while I went outside to take some photos. It wasn't until I was getting ready to turn the lights off 30 minutes later that I could not find Henry anywhere inside ... there was only one place he could be ... outside. He was sitting in the dark on the patio just enjoing the sky as the moon poked through what clouds were left.

This is the area we drove to yesterday. It would be on the back side of that corner in the lower left.

The Mule Mountains towards Bisbee. I heard they had 6" of snow in town and from some of the photos on Facebook I think that is pretty accurate.

Henry questioning me on why does he have to come inside. He is a little stubborn like all basset hounds are but is getting smarter by the day and knows he and Walter run this house. It also didn't take long for him to learn the definition of "pizza". I mention that word to him now and he runs to the front window, standing and looking for the driver to walk to the porch.

Freezing cold from the 'Wild West' today. I can't wait to get back to the normal higher tempseratures.