Snowy Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Another sunny and really cold winter day today. I was out for about half an hour in the middle of the day, walking very slowly with support of both my poles. Above a photo from the playground park in the middle of the housing estate; but mostly I just walked back and forth on a path along the football field for a while, because it was both sunny and quiet there. Safer than the street, and hardly even any other people about just then.

 

 

 

One Day at a Time

 

Left: Friday - Right: Saturday

 
The snow that fell during the week remains. Today has been sunny, but cold. Around -8'C (17-18 F) according to my weather apps - and probably feeling even colder because of wind. (Today I haven't been out at all.)

Yesterday I was expecting a delivery of groceries between 10-13. I was among the last on their list that day, and with the snow and everything, they didn't arrive until shortly after 13 this time. (And then it took me nearly an hour to unpack and sort everything into fridge, freezer and various cabinets. Because of all the holidays it was my first delivery in three weeks.) As I live only 1 km or so from the supermarket, I'm usually either among the very first or the very last on their route - and I never know which until the same day. But then I can follow updates of expected time of delivery on their app, and also get a text message when I'm next. With the present snow situation, one has to be prepared for delays; but they were only like 10 minutes late in the end, and I got everything I had ordered.   

Today I had the laundry room booked for the afternoon, starting at 12. Normally I try to avoid booking weekends; but again, with all the red days lately, normal routines have been set aside. Recently I've felt more need of keeping the few non-holidays "free", in case I should need to transport myself somewhere for some errand or other. (But with the snow situation, combined with my knee, have ended up mostly just staying in anyway...) 

One result of all this is that just now, I still frequently have to keep reminding myself what day of the week it really is!  

We have a word for this in Swedish which doesn't have an exact translation in English (to be veckovill). I asked Google AI for an equivalent in English, but instead of just admitting that it didn't know, it came up with suggestions way off the mark (like "weekly").

Turning to an old and trusted printed Swedish-English dictionary, that simply gives the matter-of-fact paraphrase: "not know what day of the week it is". 

 

Snow Update

 

Yesterday we had more snow added, without any plough coming round duirng the day, and I just stayed in. This morning the walkway outside my building had been ploughed, though; so I siezed the opportunity to take out some rubbish to the bins. I also prolonged my walk a little (20 min or so, walking slowly and with poles), but kept close to home. 

The latest weather forecasts for this area predict no more snow over the weekend, but temperatures remaining cold. I have a home delivery booked tomorrow, and hope that will work out pretty much as usual, without too much delay. 

Tiddely Pom

 

 

 

▲ Photos zoomed in from my windows 11:30-11:45 today.  ▼

 The more it snows (Tiddely pom)
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom)
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom)
On snowing ...

Photo from the TV news of a man skiing in Gothenburg city - where the trams stood still this morning. Many buses were also cancelled, and trains running late, and schools have been closed... etc.

Snowbows and Diamond Dust

 

Today around 1 pm the sun was trying to break through a hazy fog consisting of teeny tiny snowflakes - so small one could not really see them, just feel them... And while I was out in it (for about 25 minutes) they also landed as a thin powdery layer on top of the black cap I was wearing. (As I was wearing a white coat, I did not notice this until I got back home and saw myself in the mirror in the lift on the way up to my flat!).

 

I went for a short walk to the nearest small convenience shop to buy some bananas and a couple of pears, to cover my need of fresh fruit until my next home delivery from the supermarket, booked for Friday.

 

 

 

I didn't actually notice those rainbow-like phenomena in the sky until I got this photo (above) up on my computer screen at home. But I think they too must be to do with that strange icy atmosphere.  (*)

 

 

Yesterday, I saw a hare disappearing into some bushes near a building. I know there are at least one or two hares that I think of as "living" in the old cemetery, but that I also sometimes see (from my windows, at night) grazing on the lawns on the estate where I live. Today, I noticed more evidence (footprints in the snow) of it/them having been around here. No doubt it's difficult for them to find food just now, with the ground all covered in snow - both here and "there"... 

 

 * * *

 

* I googled "rainbow in snow" and got this AI summary:

 

A "rainbow in snow," or snowbow, is a rare, faint arc of color (or white) caused by sunlight refracting through ice crystals in falling or blowing snow, rather than water droplets like a normal rainbow. Snowbows are often muted and harder to see because snowflakes are complex shapes, making them less effective at creating distinct colors, and they usually appear at sunrise or sunset when conditions are right. 

 

How it forms:

• Light & Ice Crystals: Sunlight hits ice crystals in the air (like snowflakes or diamond dust). **
• Refraction: The light bends (refracts) and splits into colors as it passes through the crystals, similar to a regular rainbow.
• Faint Colors: Because snowflakes are imperfect and complex, the colors often blend, resulting in a paler, sometimes white, arc known as a white rainbow or fogbow. 

I like the word "diamond dust", because that's exactly what it felt like when I first got out for my walk today. So I had to look that up as well, and here is what Wikipedia says:

 

Diamond dust is a ground-level cloud composed of tiny ice crystals. This meteorological phenomenon is also referred to simply as ice crystals and is reported in the METAR code as IC. Diamond dust generally forms under otherwise clear or nearly clear skies, so it is sometimes referred to as clear-sky precipitation. Diamond dust is most commonly observed in Antarctica and the Arctic, but can occur anywhere with a temperature well below freezing. In the polar regions of Earth, diamond dust may persist for several days without interruption.