Well, crap. The snow is back.

The Return of the Cold Evil White Stuff

This wind-blown snow at the edge of Squaw Bay on Lake Monona has been built up into a layered crust sturdy enough to bear my weight when I cross it on a pair of skis. I could easily ride across the thinnest layers, but broke through the thickest layers, about four inches deep. Skiing across it became a tedious exercise in climbing back on top of the crust after breaking through.

The snow on Squaw Bay was much easier to break a trail through, not layered and crusted over like this at all.

Flaking Out

New snow falling on the corner of South Hamilton Street.

Looking Down Main Street On A Snowy Evening

That's Genna's on the left with the Tornado Lounge just behind it, and Inn On The Square on the right.

New Snow

The capital under floodlight as snow falls on cap square.

The morning after ...

You may have heard we got a bit of snow.
The Monona snow plow drivers did an outstanding job
of keeping the streets clear ...

... although some people may have had trouble
getting out of their driveways.

Yesterday morning:

By three o'clock, cars were having a lot of trouble climbing the hill up Carroll Street. This bus tried to turn onto Carroll from Washington and didn't make it. The more he spun his tires, the further he slid off the road until the rear of the bus fetched up against the curb.

It took a bit longer than usual to get the car in the garage tonight ...

Tim and I clear a foot or so of freshly-drifted snow from the driveway.

Sodium Bounce-Back

A low overcast reflects the city's streetlights in this before-bedtime snapshot.

Spot the snow angel

Seen on cap square this afternoon, with a fresh dusting of snow. Must've been made just before this morning's snowfall.

The leafy veins of a bronze sculpture in Olbrich Gardens fill with new-fallen snow.

First Snow

It hardly amounts to more than a dusting,
but this snow fell last night and it was still there this morning.

On, Wisconsin! Come snow, or sleet, or gloom of winter storm ...

I'm sure by this time the whole 'snow in April' theme has been done to death by dozens of Wisconsin bloggers, but I took the pictures and I've been slogging through the stuff all day, so I'm going to post, dammit!

I'll do this guy next, just to get the statues out of the way.

I can never remember who this guy was, other than he died in the battle of Chickamunga, and he was Norwegian. My memory, scrabbling around for something to call him, comes up with Sven Chickamunga.

He's looked better.

The wind-driven snow flocked all the trees in capital square so they stood out from the background as if they were lit from within. This stand of trees along Pinckney were very nearly incandescent, even in the early morning gloom.

Some courageous soul dared to walk the narrow, snow-covered granite curb running the length of the sidewalk leading up to the capital and an hour of the day that I can hardly walk a straight line on level pavement. Bravo!

Grace Episcopal is a commanding presense on the square even on an overcast day, when it's cloaked in a muting blanket of snow.

Flocked bikes locked up to a rack at the top of State Street.

The top of State Street has always seemed like a cozy place to me, and especially so on this frozen morning when my destination is Michelangelo's coffee shop (the awning marked "coffe" to the right) for a piping hot beverage.