The Beauty of Snow

Lite freezing rain fell in the early AM hours, leaving behind a cool ice crystal-like effect on the tree limbs, plants and other hard surfaces. And the lack of much wind today made it possible to walk around and check out the front and back yard, shoot a few photos, and then put out a bowl of water for the greedy birds flocking to my back yard to fill up on the birdseed I scattered liberally around the yard and into the bird feeders. 

 My neighbors probably shook their heads at the sight of me (in flip flops no less) scooping up snow and ice off the sidewalks and drive ways to dump the piles into the flower beds. Snow is fabulous in that it melts slowly and thus the moisture is absorbed gently and deeply into the ground. 

 And, unlike the water that comes from the sprinklers and hose, the melted snow doesn't contain hard minerals the way our hard water does. I also collected a plastic tub full of snow in order to have  water later this week to dump on the garden beds. I live in a semi-arid area that has been in severe drought for 4 years. When rare rain or snow falls, the buckets and tubs for capturing the water comes out. Free water is nothing to sneeze at, especially with our water rates raising every few years.