I took this photo of our driveway yesterday around 4pm after what I expect will be our last trip out for awhile. I nearly slid down the ravine because of the icy conditions and the depth of the snow. The tracks between the wheel ruts were made by the universal joint dragging through the crust.

I woke up this morning around 5am to one of the periodic snow showers we’ve been experiencing since Tuesday night.

So far, it’s showered another 3-4 inches, and it’s still going. With expected wind gusts of up to 65 mph, I will be very surprised if we don’t lose power again. It was out for 7 1/2 hours Saturday, and it got pretty chilly in our humble little cottage. Our only heat source is electricity.

While I was out, I managed to restock our pantry and stop by the New River General Store. Kathy and crew were doing a pretty decent lunch time business.

She’s smiling at a remark I made after two teenage girls came in. You just have to love their spirit sometimes. Teenagers generally look at the glass as half full rather than half empty.   Wythe County has done an excellent job of keeping side roads plowed so I was able to drive to Jackson Ferry and Foster Falls to take a few more photographs. The blue heron looked so elegant as it skimmed over the New River looking for lunch. I took this and the next two pictures standing on Rt. 52 in the middle of the Jackson Ferry Bridge. One is of the magnificent Sycamore tree on the left bank, and the other is of the dilapidated ferry tender’s cottage overlooking the right bank beneath the old Norfolk and Southern railroad trestle that is now part of the New River Trail.

I’ll publish the pictures from Foster Falls in the next post. In case it hasn’t occurred to you, there is one thing the snow and ice are good for:

Cheers!