The Rhododendron plants outside our bedroom window help us to tell how cold it is … today for example, overnight was cold; I took this picture about 7:30am when it was maybe 15f (-9c):
You can see how the Rhododendron has “dipped” it’s leaves nearly vertical, presumably as an adaptation to allow any falling snow to drop off the leaves and prevent breaking branches!
This afternoon, 3pm, the temperature is close to 40f (4c), and the Rhododendron has responded:
Since the horrible I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis last year, bridges all over America are being inspected and repaired.
Work has been ongoing on the A. Piatt Andrew bridge for a while (apparently planned before the collapse), but recently closure of one lane in each direction over the bridge has begun affecting our journeys out of Gloucester!
It looks like the bridge might be being “de-prettified”, which they’ve done once already – they added tall mesh fencing to the sides, to discourage people jumping off; but now it looks like the granite kerbing might be being replaced with ugly jersey barriers 😦
The back of our house faces North, so doesn’t get much sun. Higher up the roof, the sun melts snow, which runs down and re-freezes in the gutter, blocking it:
M&I / GBMINI 