Winter Wonderland

Did the snowstorm yesterday qualify as a blizzard? It sure looked like one yesterday afternoon as we left the SJC winter band concert.

This morning was bright and sunny but still cold and windy. The high winds and drifting snow resulted in a snow day for the local schools, but not for the recycling crew. However, they were not finding a lot to pick up and were doing their route very quickly. The city streets will remain snow-packed for at least a few days. Notice the drift that wants to form across Vine Street in the photo below.

The wind does interesting things with the snow. Look how it sculpts the snow around these headstones in Weston Cemetery.

It also creates fascinating patterns on the snow drifts that the low angle of the sun accentuates.

I hope you are able to get past all the inconveniences of the winter weather and enjoy the beauty of the winter wonderland that surrounds us.

Roofers

Dangerous work on a cold December morning. I wish I had been carrying a better camera.


(Oops. This was a post that I prepared a long time ago--either a year ago or two years ago--and then was not sure that I wanted to use, so I dated it far in the future. The future arrived without me realizing that this post needed to be re-dated or else it would appear. It is out of the queue now.)

I missed both the Santa's Village yesterday and the Band Booster Breakfast yesterday last weekend. Others were there and posted.

Cool running

The Santa Shuffle 5K took place this morning. No one suffered from heat exhaustion.

I think a twelve-year old girl won the woman's side of things with a time below 23 minutes.

Setting a bridge

Today was the big day for the Talbert Bridge. The main span was lifted onto its concrete piers. The lift started at about 11:00.

The method was not what I expected. The crane lifted the span over the south-bank pier and used that to support the span. Then the operator gradually moved it out over the river.

When it was almost to the other side, the crane on the north side hooked to the bridge and held it.

With the crane on the north and the pier on the south supporting the bridge, a worker went out onto the span and unhooked the main crane, and then re-attached the hooks so that the crane would be able to shove it the rest of the way.

Of course the workers helped with the shoving. (It is actually quite remarkable how a single person can move things that are suspended.)

On the north bank another worker was checking to make sure that the span would be placed in exactly the right spot.

The workers on the south found the right spot for their side.

With the main span in place, workers could walk on it. The bridge has a bit of bounce--you could see it as the workers walked on it. That will make it a lot more fun for kids to cross. Will the runners like the sensation?

With the main span in place, it was time for the approaches. The crane on the north bank quickly set the approach from Weston Cemetery, though the fine-tuning took a while.

Right now there are no boards in the approach, so sensible people will stay off. I do not know if that will include me.

When it is finished, the bridge will have side rails to keep people from falling off and helping those of us with fear of heights.

As I left at noon, this is what the bridge looked like. The crane on the north was getting ready to leave, but they had not started lifting the south approach into place.

New owners for the old Beaver News buildings

Someone left a comment this morning on last night's post asking what was going on with the Beaver News building. I had not realized that anything was going on, but it has a "Sold" sign in its window.

I managed to talk to a man who was working inside, and he said that after they clean it out and remodel it, they want it to be an event hall.

It should be interesting to watch. The building has possibilities. It has an old cast-iron front buried under the plywood.

If you have more information about what has happened to Beaver News or what will happen to this building, your comments are welcome.