I saw a license plate the other day that perfectly described winter in Minnesota.
Last week’s bomb cyclone, “Winter Storm Wesley,” dropped up to 20 inches of snow on Minnesota. Some spots were hit so badly that Governor Tim Walz declared a state of emergency Thursday night in 64 counties.
And then there was the wind, which pummeled my condo building with such force that it kept me up at night. I’ll let this poor state trooper show you with a hands-on demonstration. (Thank goodness he wasn’t hurt.)
But we were lucky in the Twin Cities, where we got only six to eight inches of snow. It felt like being inside a snow globe by Wednesday afternoon …
… especially in the woods, where everything had a white coating.
Except maybe for this bog, where the ducks had meandered through the muck. (Say it fast, three times: Muck ducks. Muck ducks. Muck ducks! Which sounds like mukluks, which every Minnesotan must own.)
The deer were out as well. See if you can spot one of them, to the right of the red arrow. (That’s about all I saw, too, as they vanished like ghosts into the trees.)
The wind arrived just an hour later, pelting commuters with a mixture of snow and ice. But God bless their parkas, Minnesotans are a hardy people.
And who needs four-wheel drive, when you have a unicycle? There is no explanation for the things you see here sometimes.
We’ll be back in the 50s next week, though, so the snow won’t last — and soon you’ll be seeing spring flowers here instead of freeze-dried leftovers from last year.
Whee!
HeideBlog 
Well, your photos managed to make even a late winter snowstorm look appealing. Brilliant! Glad you survived the last blast – on now to lovely Spring! Whee! For sure! 🙂
We do what we can with what we get, right? Hope you’re well on your way to spring in Michigan too. Whee! 🙂
Winter landscapes are truly a thing of beauty….but not so much in the spring. Thanks for sharing.
It’s all relative isn’t it? At least this batch of snow won’t last long, so that is of some consolation. Thank you for stopping by!
And people here were grumbling about a little flurry we had on Thursday…..
I hope things get sorted out for the people of Minnesota and Quebec soon.
Well, i don’t begrudge anyone a bit of grumbling, Anthony — it’s been a heckuva winter! And yes, i do believe there is hope that we and our friends in Quebec will soon see the pavement again. Cheers!
I liked the pictures, even though I know how completely “over” people are with winter. As for the all weather unicyclist–I have to give them my applause.
I knew you’d like the unicyclist! I had to give the man his props too, even if I question his sanity.
beautifull
Thank you!
pleasure
Am I glad I don’t live in Minnesota! Beautiful but bad for my arthritis!
Selfishly, i would love to have you for a neighbor, Paloma. But you’re right that it’s tough on the arthritis. If my husband’s gets much worse, we may need to flee ourselves!
Fly to Spain 😁!
¡JA JA! Si pudiera, Paloma … if only I could. 🙂
Great images of the snow, wow you certainly get weather extremes in your part of the USA. If it happened in the UK everything would grind to a halt.
I think you good folks in the UK could get through this just fine — if we lent you a few of our snowplows. It’s all about having the right equipment.
Beautiful photos Heide. Really liked the one of the person on the uni-cycle.
Thank you so much, Audrey and Tom! Even if it’s a bit of of focus, that’s my favorite too. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
I have seen on the News that you poor people got hammered with snow & wind. I feel for you people out there. Minnesota must get darn cold up there at times. Not sure if I’d want to put up with that. Winters here in SE PA can get some bitter cold, snow, and wind but not like where you are. I’d freeze! Try and stay warm there. It’s Spring here, thank goodness!
Good Images of the snow!
Thanks very much, Les!
Darned cold is exactly how we describe it, Les! But don’t worry about us too much; we love to complain about the weather, but we’re pretty used to it. Happy spring to you in PA! And thank you as always for stopping by.
Forgive my sense of humor, but the license plate reminds me of the piggy in the Geico commercial — the one that squealed “Whee!” all the way home.
Your sense of humor needs no forgiving, David — I’m chuckling too! I’d forgotten about that ad, but you’re absolutely right. Wheeee! 🙂
Great photos, making a bad situation in to a good one 🙂 And what a great contrast you are going to see when the 50s and spring arrives next week. Glad to hear you did not suffer too much with the bomb cyclone. Happy sunny days ahead for you!
Thank you so much, Dalo — both for the encouragement, and for your kind words. Happy sunny days ahead for you, too!
Thank you. I enjoyed your post. Living in the south as I do , it gives me insight into the things that happen there .
Thank YOU for stopping by! It’s difficult to imagine sometimes how different our lives can be in such a huge country, isn’t it? I’m glad you enjoyed this vicarious tour of the north.
What a bummer that was! We are back to feeling cabin fever. We want sun and no snow!
Bummer. What a great description, Tom! I hope you and Melanie are feeling a bit better today, with all the glorious sun? Happy Sunday to you both!
Gosh that is a lot snow. We havent had snow, the cold of winter is still here in so called spring…
Sorry it’s still cold in your part of the world, Bella. But it can’t last too much longer. Hang in there!
You too
That unicyclist needs to chain up!
Indeed! (And now you have me wondering where one buys chains for giant unicycles. Hmmm.)
This snow is so disrespectful – threatens to show up here in SW Ontario tomorrow.
I love the idea of disrespectful snow, V.J. I hope it will become a better guest by the time it reaches Ontario and not overstay its welcome.
So far it is just icy rain.
Yuck! Fingers crossed it stayed above freezing overnight? Otherwise fingers crossed you don’t have to go anywhere today.
Yes to both!
I love the beauty and optimism you share. I know this storm was destructive in many ways for many people. But the best way to move on is to look for the good and head for tomorrow. Thanks for sharing. Whee!
You’re right about how devastating this storm was (heck, this WINTER) for so many people, Patti — so I did feel extra-lucky to be able to appreciate it for its beauty. Thank you so much for stopping by, and for your kind comment. (Whee!)
Wow, when a State like Minnesota declares an emergency because of snow, that must be some real snow. (I will resist the temptation to add ” by golly” to the end of that last sentence.)
Could you be in possession of the only photograph of a unicyclist in a blizzard in all of history? I would not be surprised.
By golly, you’re right, J.P. — we have states of emergency quite often here (mostly for tornadoes and floods) but declaring one for a snowstorm really is unusual.
As for being in possession of the only photo of a unicyclist riding in a blizzard: I would love that honor, but highly doubt it. Strange sights like that one are fairly routine around here. Though I still haven’t seen anyone rollerskating on the ice, so there’s always something even crazier to hope for!
As always, thank you for stopping by.
I always love the beauty you capture in winter/snow photographs, Heide – they really are sublime looking. Hope all is getting a little warmer again for you and the state. Also admire how your photos do show people’s resiliency: out and about in sub freezing temps, doing life, and even being creative about it (unicycling in snow? 😉
Yes, Lara, unicycling in the snow! Who knew that was a thing?! Fortunately today we’re in the mid-sixties — and maybe tomorrow we’ll have thunderstorms — so i think we’ve turned the corner (fingers crossed, knock on wood). Cheers to you!
=)! Enjoy those mid sixties temps, Heide! If you get any good pics from the thunderstorms, hope to see them here =)
No good pictures yet, but it’s a joy to hear thunder even as I type. YAY!! 🙂
Lol – wonderful = p I do love storm sounds (from inside when safe and can enjoy ;))
🙂
Great photos, Heidi. I love the definition that snow brings when it is on windward sides of trees.
Isn’t that beautiful? Like highlights for trees. 🙂
I’m kind of envious, we rarely get a decent bout of snow these days. Just waiting for the right conditions to get my unicycle out… ; )
Haha, Dan! I’ll be glad to ship you what’s left of our snow. (Limited-time offer, though, since we have only one little pile left!) 🙂
(PS, Heide, I was just wondering how long it took you to gather so many followers and judging by your archives I see your blog is nearly 10! Wow! Will you be celebrating?)
Don’t be too impressed by the number, Dan — most of those “followers” are actually bots, i think. But yes, i have been at it for almost 10 years and will perhaps do a restrospective. We’ll see! Sometimes it’s good to just keep looking ahead. One thing’s for sure, though: I sure appreciate the kind folks like you who actually take the time to read and leave comments. Thank you for that.
Yes, it would be good if we could purge our followers now and again to weed out the fake ones! In fact, maybe we can, I might have a look at mine later. I’m happy to delete the likes of “passiveincomesecrets123” and “viralimagesandquotes” who both recently started following!
Absolutely agree, it’s the few who genuinely interact and contribute that continue to make the blogging community rewarding and worthwhile.
Superb shots and great report! I liked the reader friendly approach 🙂
Thank you, thank you — I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m all about being friendly to my readers here at HeideBlog. 🙂
Hello lovely ! Only you could make a snow storm look so gorgeous 😀 I’m thinking that Trouper didn’t find it as funny as every one else. Geez Louise, that’s some wind. I’m thrilled that we seem to be out of the woods for snowstorms. Do they always name snowstorms down your way?
I had my nails done once and the colour was, “My Chihuahua Bites”. LOL I think that’d be a fun job, thinking up names for nail colours. How about, “Coffee Stains On My Blouse”….it’d be the colour of a latte. Or, “There’s A Hole In My Violet Sweater” Can you guess I’m drawing from my life? bahhaha.
Anywho, Happy Minnesota Spring Heidi, bring on the Tulips xoK
“My Chihuahua Bites”?! What a wonderful name or a color! I do think you’d be great at coming up with those, dear Boomdee. And thank you for the good wishes! As if on cue, I’ve just loaded up some spring flowers … just for you. xoxo
PS: Our snowstorms seldom get official names, which is why Wesley caught the attention of so many people. That said, I give lots of *unofficial* names to our snowstorms. Like “Snowstorm ^%@!,” which hit in February, and “Snowstorm #%!$#&,” in late March. Ha ha!
LOLOL ! You are très créatif 😀
To be fair, some of the names get reused. 😀
The unicycle is pushing it a bit I believe. Couldn’t spot the deer Heide 😦
I agree with you that the unicycle is a bit much … and yet, i have to tip my hat to such an intrepid soul! As for the deer: No worries. Nature designed them to be almost invisible. (Which is why I’m grateful to live in the age of Monoprix and Picard, because otherwise I would have perished by now.)