Libations: No Faux Snow, Deck Rebuild, and New Parks

While the majority of the US experienced unusually cold and snowy conditions, we were returning to normal from unusually cold and snowy conditions. The storms hit here first, at a time when we also had atypical cold air in our region from Canada. In our city of Tacoma, we ended up with about 14 inches of lovely, fluffy white stuff. We never lost power, and the bulk of the storm lasted from Friday through Sunday, so no one cared if roads were messed up. Russ and I took a neighborhood loop walk using Delong Park; I loved seeing so many of our neighbors out playing in the snow! Every unblocked hill was pressed into use for sleds and snowboards. Just a few days after our joy, I felt so terrible considering the conditions in the rest of the country. Our fun novelty was no comparison to the life and death trouble so many others suffered.

Sledding hill in the neighborhood.

Art project at the local elementary school.

Faux snow? Graffiti that seemed appropriate.

Delong Park Trail winter wonderland.

R-Pod without working solar panels.

Our backyard stairs were a good way to gauge the depth.

Our side yard deck if finally rebuilt after the dig out for the side sewer connection to the new sewer main. Our contractor started before the big snow, then had to wait until after the snow melted, which turned into a lovely clear day to work outside. It is so nice to be able to use our side door again and have quick access to the backyard. We really missed being able to use the deck this summer (we often eat there at our outdoor table). It was difficult to fill the hummingbird feeder, too. I'm sure the birds will be glad to have a more consistent supply! We still need to put the side fence back up, but that should get done in the next week or so, weather depending.

Getting started.

Our next door neighbor surveys the driveway.

Snow falls on the unfinished work.

All done with grill and table back in place.

We explored some new to us parks in Tacoma. Wapato Hills Park and Jefferson Park. Wapato Hills gave us some nice hiking trails as we waited to get some work done on our truck. I've driven by this park for decades and have never stopped to see it. We will definitely come back again. We also took advantage of a lovely morning to do the main loop at Chambers Bay, including the Central Meadow loop and bridge. Lots of folks were out enjoying the sunny day; it almost felt like COVID-19 was over and we were back to normal, except for the masks.