Cyclone Bomb Day

Remember when winter storms were called things like nor'easter or blizzard? Things were so much simpler back then. At any rate, today we were hit with a small blizzard which dumped about a foot of snow on Waterbury. The Governor asked everyone to stay off the highways, and almost everything was closed.

A flock of about 50 sparrows spent the day in my yard, gobbling up bird seed.

By late morning, the snow was still falling rapidly.

A sad story of the storm (although the sparrows in the backyard sounded like they were rejoicing soon after). A young hawk flew into the garage door while Marco was shoveling the driveway. It flopped around in the snow, so he picked it up gently and brought it to the front porch. I quickly pulled out a cardboard box to help provide shelter while we contacted a wildlife rescue organization. Unfortunately, it was all over in a few seconds. As soon as the hawk was placed on the porch floor, it started flopping about again. It looked like it was trying to fly, but couldn't get one of its wings to work. A moment later, the hawk flopped over on its back and died. This is the second hawk I've seen in my yard this week, presumably hunting the flock of sparrows at the feeder. The other hawk was full-grown, five times the size of this one. This is turning out to be a hard winter for birds and, presumably, other wildlife.

Seriously, right after the hawk died, the sparrows started singing loudly and happily. I guess the poor hawk was starving and failed at a last effort to catch a sparrow. Sparrows are mean little things, but that's how they survive.

After the sadness of watching the hawk die, I decided to go for a walk. I did a short loop down Walnut Street, then back up along Dikeman and Wood Streets, back to Walnut, then Oak and back to Wood Street.

 

Walnut Street

Normally, you can see St. Mary's Hospital from Walnut Street. On a clear day, you can see across to Town Plot. Today, you were lucky to see all the way down the road.

Dikeman Street

Wood Street

Wood Street

 

When the wind kicks up the snow, it's a nearly complete whiteout.

The bodegas all stayed open.

Ives Street.

Walnut Street Firehouse

Andy's Oil Services on Walnut Street

City buses were still running, with chains on their tires

Oak Street

Snowstorm Hero! Thank you to all the plow drivers.

Yay!

By the time I returned from my walk, my street had been plowed.

Schools will be closed tomorrow, but everything else should be back up and running.