We interrupt Oprah to give you winter. ..

Footprints in the first snowfall of the season. . .

The Storm of the Century. Not really. But when the approaching "winter storm" pre-empts BOTH "Ellen" and "Oprah," well, you know at least the local media are taking it seriously. Or at least getting typically hysterial about it

As winter storms go, Thursday's blast of winter wasn't really much. But, being in Texas, you must add in the "unfamilar" quotient as well as the "unprepared" quotient. . .then you begin to realize that 3" of slushy snow in Fort Worth is about the same as 24" of wind-driven fury in the Twin Cities.



A taste of winter. . .



And I. gets a chance as well.

The biggest hassles of course were traffic, but we left an hour earlier than usual to pick up I. from his Mom's Day Out program, and the precipitation was merely heavy rain. By the time we got back to the neighborhood to pick up E. from his school, the flakes had turned big and wet and there was a few inches of slush on the road.

Once back from school the kids could not be deterred from getting reacquainted with snow. For I., it was the first real snow he could recall, and after a few minutes outside with cold hands, he'd had enough.



Traffic was bumper-to-bumper on Blue Mound Rd. . .

I, of course, had to find an excuse to get back out on the road and just maybe get a snowy train photo or two. Out of sodas? No comfort food in the house? Nothing to watch on the DVD player? Of course I'll brave the elements to replenish the house.


Union Pacific northbound on the Duncan subdivision leaving Saginaw. . .

BNSF 6815 in the yard at Saginaw. . .

I photographed a northbound BNSF grain empty, a UP train on the Duncan subdivision, and then a BNSF switch engine in the yard at Saginaw. By then, the big snow had ended and the roads were merely wet, the slush melting away a bit. I headed for home. The shots weren't much, but at least I got out for a few snow shots. Without four-wheel drive and proper snow and cold-weather clothing (hey, I live in Texas!) I wasn't going to go too gonzo.