Punxsutawney Phil was Right

The ground hog sure was right. This past Friday, the base sent us home at 2 pm because of a brewing snow storm. We received about eight inches of snow Friday and Saturday morning. It was a real wet snow making shoveling a very difficult task. Somehow, the division of shoveling labor is such that I get to shovel while Ashley watches the Bode-man. On these heavy snow days, I believe I'm getting the short end of the stick and deserve some sort of compensation (back-rub?) I'll have to bring this up at the next committee meeting.

The heavy snow caused a neighbor's tree to fall on the main power line that feeds about 50 homes in our neighborhood. We lost power a little before 2 am on Saturday. We were really worried that it'd be a couple days before we got power back because after the big wind storm in 2008, we were without power for 13 days. Fortunately, I saw a Dayton Power and Light truck across the street around 11 am. The guy told me it would be another five or six hours, which was bad because it was getting cold in the house, but it really was good news knowing we'd get power back that night. About four DP&L trucks showed up, and the guys got to work. A guy from the local ABC news channel was filming and wanted some neighborhood folks to interview. Ashley ended up being on TV. The best part was she was wearing her Auburn sweat-shirt, so all of Big-10 country had to have the SEC rubbed in their face one more time :-)

Sunday the high was forecast to be 22. What a wonderful day for a race (yes, really). I ran the Frostbite Five miler down in Centerville. Evidently a lot of (fast) people wanted to get out and run on Sunday, so there really is no need to discuss in what place I finished...but I will say my time was a PR (likely because this was the first five-mile race I have ever run). We watched the first half of the Super Bowl at some friend's house, and then came home and saw the Saints win before falling to sleep (it was after 9:30 pm!). Early Monday morning (0400), Ashley headed off to the Dayton airport. She flew into Washington Dulles, which was closed all weekend due to a massive blizzard on the east coast. Some reports had Dulles getting over 30 inches of snow in a 2-day period. Thankfully, Ashley's flight was uneventful and she arrived safe and sound. Unfortunately, another snow storm struck today, hitting Ohio first thing this morning. By 1045, the base decided to send everyone home. Thus, Bode and I spent the day together. He turned out to be a big help shoveling the driveway (unlike some other people in this family). Here are some action photos.
The storm has moved out of Ohio and is now pounding the east coast. I spoke with Ashley on the phone. D.C. is forecast for another 12 inches of snow. She has moved her return flight from Wednesday to Thursday, so hopefully she's able to get back without further delays.

After a hard day of shoveling, Bode and I played some trains. The little dude is quite adept at getting the trains running. He still doesn't understand how to fix the track if it comes apart ("Daddy, fix choo-choo" is a common refrain). But he does enjoy it, as do I.
We have a birthday tomorrow. Auburn aka Graybeard is turning ten...has she really been with us that long? Thankfully dogs live forever :-)Pleasant day to all and happy sledding.