Snowy Sunday at Lake Bastrop

Sunday 10 January 2021

Rain, of course. When Ed went outside it was "hard" rain, aka sleet or hail, but that didn't persist since it was 45 degrees at the time.  We expected the rain to continue all day until the temperature dropped and it turned into sleet, but that didn't happen. It turned into snow right away.

After the usual morning activities--walk dogs (in the rain!), fix breakfast, eat--I wrote on the computer for a while and then decided I would take Molly for a long walk. In the rain. So I suited up with long-sleeved tee-shirt, flannel shirt, sweater, hooded sweatshirt, and rain jacket. I didn't put on my flannel-lined jeans but I did at least wear the boots, which are warm but not waterproof.

And off we went. We circled the campground and took note of all the people leaving, which was pretty much everyone. The forecast called for rain all day changing to snow in the afternoon, then lows below freezing. On Monday it was supposed to get up to mid-forties, so our best guess was that we'd be able to leave around noon when all the ice had thawed off the roads. But we were very worried that might not happen in time for us to drive, even to drive south.

After our circle, there was no feeling in my toes but I still had the use of my fingers, so we stopped off back to get my binoculars and my phone and keep on going. We took the little trail that started at the campground and circled around the finger of the lake behind the campsites, ending up in a field sort of place where the trail branched into two or three named trails. I tried to take a picture but apparently my fingers were too cold because no pictures were found on my camera later.

So we came back. At that point the rain turned to chunks of ice, then big fat snowflakes, then back to ice and finally rain again. Once again I failed to take a picture--I wanted to get Molly with snow on her back.

The snow continued falling until dark, but it was melting pretty well on the ground when I took the dogs for their pre-dinner walk. Of course my feet turned to ice, but the end was in sight. So long as the sun came out next day and thawed this mess out, we'd be okay,

Back in our warm and cozy Mammoth's belly, Ed and I continued our Harry Potter movie marathon. It had taken Ed a while to figure out how to play DVD over the complex mess of stereo systems that was installed, but when he finally did, the sound system was excellent. Apparently there's a some sort of surround sound going on, because different noises were coming from different locations behind our heads. It was disconcerting, when you weren't watching the screen, to suddenly hear a crash! or a scream.