Iced

In our area, winter will bring temperatures suitable to "frozen precipitation," but every time a band of rain moves through the temperature rises. As soon as the rain is gone, we have another cold snap.

But not this time! A few weeks ago, cold temperatures and precipitation finally coincided, and we got to experience some real winter weather. Yes, I realize I'm a bit late on this one -- but my camera died before I'd uploaded the pictures, and has been in rehab ever since!

Sadlly, we didn't get actual snow. Instead, we had freezing rain and tiny, tiny pellets of ice. By the next morning, every surface outside was coated in a sheath of ice.

The thin layer crusted over the ground was made up of tiny pellets -- like the little silica gel pieces tucked away inside shoes and handbags (C'mon, I know I'm not the only one who cut one open out of curiosity -- I couldn't resist with all of those dire warnings printed all over the packet). Too crunchy to make a snowman, but not as slippery as plain ol' ice, either.

It's really kind of pathetic how anything of this sort sends the South into shut-down. But remember (and I'm talking to those of you who live up North and routinely drive up and down icy mountains without a second thought), this kind of weather is so rare for us that we have no experience. With my husband away on a military detachment and a car with a rogue battery, we didn't mind being iced in for a day or two! The kids haven't seen "snow" since our trip to Newport last year, which I doubt they remember. I had a blast watching them toddle around, wrapped up in whatever assortment of winter gear I could rustle up.

And now comes the rollercoaster of Winter-Summer-Winter-Summer that we in Florida call "Spring." Seriously, it was 70 degrees outside a week after I took these photos...