Snowstorm

A few days ago, I began writing about the snowstorm of February 5–6, 2010. The media pretty much ignored the problems it caused in Pittsburgh, which received only 20 or so inches of snow. (Residents had been told to expect 6–8 inches.) Virginia, Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia got all the media attention, since they received a good deal more snow.

Pittsburgh hasn’t yet recovered—transit service is spotty, most schools are closed, and many streets are barely passable—and I am sitting in front of my computer awaiting another snowstorm scheduled to arrive in a couple of hours. I really don’t have time to finish writing about my harrowing trip home after attending the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert downtown, the 20 hours without electricity, the interminable shoveling of snow to clear my driveway, or the sparsely attended service at my church on Sunday.

I do, however, want to share a couple of photographs. I thought the view through my kitchen window was interesting:

In the foreground is snow piled atop a picnic table on my second-story deck. Beyond that is snow piled atop the deck railing, which is not visible. The bird feeder is attached to the railing. The falling snow left a couple of openings where birds could actually get to the seeds in the feeder. The picture below shows a male cardinal who found the little hole in the snow where seeds were to be had:

Timing was critical in taking these photos. When I returned to the window a few minutes later, all the snow on the railing had tumbled to the ground.