Visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden is always fun, even in the winter. You might think it’s not the best time of year to wander around a garden, but you get to see all kinds of cool things that just aren’t possible in the warmer months, like this waterfall fringed by ice in the Japanese Garden. I love that even though the waterfall was running freely, that didn’t stop the ice from building up around the edges!
In our house, we’ve come to look forward to “French Toast Events,” days that are inspired by the “French Toast Map” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Weatherbird used to create in the run-up to bad winter weather. You knew a winter storm was going to pack a punch if Weatherbird said you needed milk, bread, and eggs (bonus points when he added beer to the map, too). Well, Weatherbird’s latest illustrator retired last year, and while he said that he would continue drawing the character on a freelance basis, as far as I can tell, he no longer uses the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and so I had no French Toast Map to help me decide how to plan for yesterday’s winter weather advisory. As it turned out, I think they rather underestimated this storm, because the first half of yesterday was an icy nightmare, which included cancellations all over the Bi-State, the closure of Lambert Airport for a time, and multiple accidents, including some with Metro buses and even firetrucks. Anyway, I hadn’t prepared for a full French Toast Event, but I was in a good place for a Waffle Warning, starring French Toast’s cousin, the Mickey Waffle, so we were still able to observe one of our favorite winter weather traditions, just in a new way!
I think after this winter, I have a new appreciation for this quote!
“The Vulcans say that the desert teaches men the meaning of endurance. But it’s the ice that forges real strength.” Jeffrey Combs as Commander Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise
We had some freezing rain yesterday. I didn’t think there had been that much, but based on the sheet of ice covering our driveway this morning, and the icicles hanging from our tree, I guess there was more than I thought!
There’s more possible ice in the forecast for Monday, but I’m hoping that maybe that ends up just being rain. I like snow, but ice is the worst!
The size of the icicles coming out of our downspouts show just how cold this winter has been…I don’t remember ever seeing icicles like this since we’ve lived here!
It may not look like much, but it sure does make for a slippery walk to the mailbox!
“Ice…my biggest profit margin. Just water, cold, and time.” Kim, the market owner on Mad About You