Snow!

I was skeptical, but the snow did arrive late last night. We got maybe an inch and a half, and the temperature stayed in the mid-20s so whatever did accumulate was still around this morning. The island is truly beautiful in the snow. Here's a picture I took looking across at Brown Island. One of my favorite things about snow is how the trees look, all their limbs dusted in white powder.
Mt. Baker also got a fresh blanket of snow, and was visible during a sun break this afternoon. You can see the islands in the foreground all got a bit of snow too. As always, you can click on the images for a larger view, although the picture of Mt. Baker doesn't really do it justice.

Unfortunately, not everything is as wonderous and pristine as the quietly falling snow - I'm suffering from a cold, the roads are icy, and my car isn't great on wintery roads, so I was restricted to taking just a short foray around the neighborhood rather than checking out other parts of the island. To see some beautiful pictures of Lime Kiln Lighthouse in today's snow, check out my friend Jason's blog post from today. Also, our plumbing system is mostly above-ground, so our pipes our frozen and we have no running water! We've definitely hit winter, distinct by its beautifully harsh conditions!