Destruction, pt. 2

This happened at 10 AM today.  Now you see it:

...and now you don't:

We have actual footage of it going down taken by Granny with the old tape videorecorder but I have to convert it.  We were both convinced we'd missed it and I was right.  The bang was so deafening it left us all befuddled, but I swear my camera was just slow to react.  It was all very abrupt.  We got as close as we could but downtown was all sealed off (including the entire UM-Flint campus) and with power out, traffic was very cautious.

Destruction, pt. 1

We had an ice storm last night, so the trees hereabouts have acquired several extra tons in weight overnight.

 For many of them, it proved too much.  In fact, we are now without power, since about 8:30 this morning.

 Grandma's front lawn (I heard the crash from over at our house):

 Walking in For-Mar (without the good camera) - I heard branches falling constantly and glanced up nervously on more than one occasion.  You could see the trees shaking as if an invisible giant were pushing through them.

Fun at the beach

A bit nippy at Bluebell Beach, but we still managed to have fun.

Last days of VG's

Second sled of the year

Turkeys in the snow

Big...

And little:

Granny's here!

One lady of mature years greets another: Granny is a little shocked at how damn cold it is, but luckily had the foresight to order a nice quilted coat from Land's End that arrived just before I set out for the airport to collect her. She arrived yesterday and already we've had a massive uptick in the quality of our meals...

First Sled of the Winter

JacQue couldn't work today so I got to stay home with Frederick. He was beside himself with joy when he woke up this morning and saw snow on the ground--staying home from school only made it that much better. He asked to go sledding and I agreed, stunning Simon who was convinced I wouldn't go through with it. We headed out about 10 and even as we loaded the sled into the car Frederick was still convinced that we wouldn't ACTUALLY go sledding. When we pulled into the parking lot of Kearsley Park we were the ONLY people there and, perhaps, for miles in any direction. And it was easy to figure out why: the 16F degree weather coupled with the arctic howling winds made standing on the hilltop unpleasant indeed. That didn't stop Frederick from enjoying himself. Here he squeezes onto his sled. When I pushed him down the hill, he turned and said, "Mommy! Mommy! Say 'Blast Off!'" So I did. After three runs down the hill, I begged Frederick to get back into the car. He pointed to the playground and headed off. King of all he surveys.