We spent the morning getting ready for the next big storm, which has already hit so many people. We aren’t supposed to be getting the worst of the cold or snow, but we are getting plenty of snow, high winds,  rain, and ice, especially tomorrow.

This is the perfect formula for a power outage up here.

This morning, we went out early to buy three bags of sanding dirt, and another can of gasoline for our new generator (we have three full cans), and we cleared the yard of anything that 60-mile-an-hour winds might blow away.

My guess is we will have to use it this time around.

(Incoming storms always look like this just before they strike.)

We have grain for the animals and will fill our bathtub with warm water this afternoon or evening.

Maria scraped the windows on my car, which are already icing up.

The real problem here, as elsewhere, will be the dramatic drop in temperature tomorrow afternoon – from the 50s to the 20s in minutes. They call this “flash freezing,” and it causes more power outages than almost anything,

I can only imagine the suffering of the people in the upper Midwest, where temperatures are plunging frighteningly below zero, and so many roads are closed. We will be thinking of them and holding them in the light.

This afternoon, Zinnia and I are going to Memory Care for a visit. Zinnia has also discovered the seeds under the bird feeder. The birds are protesting, but Zinnia doesn’t seem to hear it.

I love storms, but this one is too nasty and dangerous to like. It’s scary. I’ll be blogging and taking photos until and unless the power goes out. Then I’ll just keep taking photos.