December 27, 2015

2015 "Goliath" Blizzard

All total, it was the third largest amount of snowfall in a single event in Lubbock's history.  Officially, we ended up with 11.2" of snow, and 50 mph winds for the entirety of the storm resulting in 8'-10' drifts in places.  The was some variability in the impact around town depending on the wind patterns in any given area, and places near open areas such as parks and fields were hit particularly hard.

SUNDAY

4:00 p.m. - Just got done shoveling my sidewalk!  Surprisingly, there was no snow or ice on my windshield (yea!).



About 8" of snow...






Drift against the garage door.


There's my little helper (inside!)...



MONDAY

It started back up again Sunday night after I took the pictures above.  By Monday morning there was several more inches of snow and traffic stuck all over the place with vehicles blocking Slide road where it goes under the loop.  Did not leave the house.






TUESDAY

Attempted to go to work, but the roads were still horrible and could not find a good path out of my neighborhood.  Could see vehicles still stuck and abandoned Slide road towards the loop.





WEDNESDAY

Made it in to the office today, but it was slow going.

Below is a through road between Frankford and Slide.  These people got hammered by snow blowing out of the field to their north (50 mph continuously on Saturday/Sunday during the snow).



Driving in the turn lane on Slide.  Southbound on Slide was blocked by stuck and abandoned vehicles and could not be plowed.


Navigating back to the southbound side to go under the loop.


The drive down 19th Street on the way to work.


Arriving at the bank...


View of the drive thru from inside the office.


19th Street on the way home.


"Da-da-DA-DA-DA, I'm lovin' it!"  (McDonald's on 4th & Slide)


The southbound traffic on Slide was really backed up because the road conditions were so horrible going through the intersection.  There was only one lane open and probably 8" of really rough ice under the overpass so only four or five cars could get through on each green light.


These people in my neighborhood were still snowed in.


THURSDAY

Thursday morning - Someone finally liberated these people (sort of)!!



There was a lot more ice this morning, and cars were sliding around all over the place including one that did a 180 in front of me at Slide and 19th!


I think this should be our new logo.


Back parking lot facing south towards the annex.


South side of the main building.


Parking lot and drive thru from Ave. Q.




There are walls of snow on all of the main roads, and some still have only one or two lanes open in places.  This is near 4th & Quaker where all lanes have been cleared.


The giant mound of snow and ice on southbound Slide approaching the loop (I'm in the northbound lane).


The finally plowed the road out of my neighborhood that I usually take.  I discovered that there are huge potholes lurking beneath the puddles, so I will not be taking this road again for a while!


A cold New Year's Eve with friends!




 
SUNDAY

Today I went for a walk on the street that was snowed in so badly.  It's still like walking the gauntlet in places.  :)




Dexter, my little walking buddy!!  (I talked to a man who was shoveling the driveway you see cut in to the right, and he said the people on this street hired a private contractor to dig them out.  He said some cars and two-wheel drive trucks are still getting stuck in some of the areas you see here.)





 


April 15, 2015

Blackberries

Early last spring I planted two bare root blackberry bushes - Ouachita and Arapaho.  Both have done very well, but the Ouachita tends to aim more towards the ground and make new starts.

They have heavy buds and the first few blooms are starting to appear.



Below is the Ouachita.  It has started three new plants in the ground, and the cane below I rerouted into a pot since the dogs kept yanking it out of the ground.  I think you're actually supposed to do this in the fall, but spring is when I had the extra cane, so we'll see what happens.


My little helpers...


April 14, 2015

Peaches - YEA!

I am SO EXCITED - for the first time in several years I will have a peach crop!!!!!!!!!!  The last couple of years I have lost them to late freezes.  Amazingly - after all of this year's miserable winter weather - we finally avoided a late freeze, and now I can't wait for summer (although I am definitely enjoying the awesome spring we are having)!!

New tree...

Old tree...



And here's a picture of the wound healing on my older peach tree after this happened.



The first picture is from a tree I planted last February labeled 'Elberta', but I don't think that's what it is.  Either that or the one I originally planted was not an 'Elberta' because the new one bloomed a few weeks earlier.  Anyhow, I am excited to see how the fruit turns out because the peaches from the older tree melt in your mouth.