Couldn't resist that old Jerry Lee Lewis song title:) In the midst of our latest winter storm, we had, of all things, an earthquake. Winter snow storms we get a lot, but earthquakes are rare here. I was asleep at 4:00 am when my bed started shaking and the drawer pulls on my old highboy began rattling. It wasn't long before the TV newsmen were on the air giving us details. A 4.3 magnitude earthquake was centered in Virgil, IL near Dekalb and NIU. The disturbing factor is that no one knew there was a fault in Virgil even though NIU has very sophisticated seismology equipment. Luckily, a relatively small quake like this does almost no structural damage.
The sun is shining today, something we haven't seen in a while. The snow is pristine and glittering. The beginning of a beautiful day.
A couple photos taken on the farm. Ever wonder what happens to apples that don't get picked? No, you probably haven't given it much thought. This old apple tree in the pasture used to provide shade and treats for the horses. Now the deer enjoy the apples they can reach and the ones that fall to the ground.
The sun is shining today, something we haven't seen in a while. The snow is pristine and glittering. The beginning of a beautiful day.
A couple photos taken on the farm. Ever wonder what happens to apples that don't get picked? No, you probably haven't given it much thought. This old apple tree in the pasture used to provide shade and treats for the horses. Now the deer enjoy the apples they can reach and the ones that fall to the ground.
The birds must not find these berries very appealing.
I hope you all have a wonderful week.
49 comments:
I heard about the earthquake, Marnie! What a surprise that must have been. Your area is part of the New Madrid Fault Line, right! And the weather has certainly been crazy ... all schools are closed and my grandboys are here today ... yea! Perhaps we will build a snowman :)
An Earth quake is an unsettling feeling. The darned wind is blowing so cold. Brrrrr All the animal tracks in the snow have been covered. Our old apple tree usually has left overs on it too. I haven't seen any this winter. I hope you are well and warm.
Oh my. Who would have though? Scary. I do remember reading their was a huge earthquake, maybe two hundred years ago in Illinois, that cause the Mississippi to run backwards. That must have been something!
An earthquake?? Really?? Yikes - sounds scary! Glad the sun is out for you today - we may have to wait another day or two to see it here.
We had an apple tree at our old house - my old dog S used to like to leap in the air and pick apples off of the tree. Sometimes he would just bark at them, demanding that they fall off and save him the trouble.
Wow, an earthquake -- I'm not familiar with all of the faults that zigzag over the US, but when I think earthquake I don't think Illinois! You have so much snow. I know it's such a pain but it's beautiful.
I read about the earthquake this morning! I couldn't believe it was Illinois. Strange stuff going on with Mother Nature this year.
Glad you are okay.
Cameron
Whole lotta of strange weather that's for sure....glad you are safe and seeing some sunshine!
I can't believe you had an earthquake! Wow!
Thanks for sharing your pretty snow pics.
I am glad that you are safe! An earthquake can be terribly frightening but at least for your sake it was not damaging!
I am feeling left out of all this snow business. We usually get a lot of snow in March...when everyone else has blooming tulips and crocus though.
Gorgeous pictures,Marnie!
Rosey
Goodness Marnie. Who knew? I certainly don't associate earthquakes with your area either. I've never experienced that shaking sensation ~ I imagine it would be unsettling. I wonder if there are any fault lines thru Colorado? Hmmm...
I'm not going to say your snow pictures are pretty. I'm over it. Ready to see bulbs and such instead!!!! So I think I'll say, "maybe that was the last big one for you and it will warm up??" I hope so!
Yikes, I didn't know about the earthquake! That's scary, but I'm glad that it was not serious. More scary, as you point out, that no one knew there was a fault line. We don't know as much about this earth of ours as we think we do, do we?
Wild apples are still hanging on many wild trees around here, but they're very brown and mushy-looking. I'm surprised that the deer hadn't eaten them before this.
My mom in Roscoe felt the quake, but we in Chi. did not (although many of our neighbors did). I still have never felt an earthquake! I'm much more afraid of tornadoes than quakes, probably because I have a lot more experience with them.
The snow is so pretty! A day like this makes winter worthwhile!
Oh my goodness! We heard about that all the way over here. I'm glad everything is okay. Where is my snow? Maine is lacking this year, it's all staying south!!! Go figure, the poor snowmobilers may have their carnival cancelled, a first.
Glad everythings Ok now. That must be very scary when you realized what it was.
What a frightening way to be awoken Marnie! Sometimes I think the earth is just going to shake us all off! It is a fault in my own way of seeing things... but our planet is a living organism and it is troubling to see we are not moving quickly enough towards curbing the change that is in process. I still have lots of apples hanging on too! We are to get some snow today... there is not much out there now. Have a great week! ;>)
I can actually (just!) beat you on that Marnie. We had one in 2008 which was 5.2! I was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when the pictures rocked and the medicine cabinet shook, everything seemed to vibrate, it unsettled Louis (the dog) but husband slept through it! A few years before that we had a similar one when I was in the bedroom and the bed seemed to dance on its casters, husband was downstairs and felt...nothing!!
Lovely picture of the snow on the berries. We had more snow today but only a dusting although it came down in a short space of time, we are promised more.
Keep warm and well Marnie :)
That is not what you want to feel on a snowy cold day, and earthquake. Just does not got together somehow.
Such pretty pictures the snow mixed with your reds. Hang in there on on there. :-)
Glad you're okay. I can imagine how unsettling it must be to experience an eathquake. We live on a fault but so far never had a quake.
We haven't had an earthquake in nearly 10 years, isn't it? I slept through this one, but then I'm a lot farther away from the epicenter than you are. We did get more snow here than you did, though, some of it Lake effect. I wonder if this is the closest an earthquake has struck to the Chicago metro area? The others I thought were more downstate, but then you know how flexible the definition of "downstate" is around here (I've seen Dixon referred to as "downstate".)
Earthquake? Wow! We live near a fault but I've never felt an earthquake - yet. Glad no damage was done. Your photos make the snow look so peaceful and beautiful. Stay warm!
Hi Marnie, I heard it referred to as a snowquake on the news this morning. You're considerably closer than we are - glad everything's ok.
The snow's so pretty - love your photos!
I heard about your earthquake on TV this morning... UNBELIEVABLE! As if alot of snow was not enough... Mother Nature is showing herself in other ways... Yipes!!!!!
Hang in there, Friend. Hopefully, Spring and calmer weather will be here soon...
Hugs,
Betsy
Goodness! An earthquake is SO what no one needs right now or ever! So good it was not big but still scary I'm sure. Whole lotta shakin going on is most apt!
We slept right through it I guess. Your pictures are wonderful.
Balisha
I've been watching the news quite a bit lately, but somehow I missed this about the earthquake--how scary! We had one a year or so ago, and I slept right through it. Apparently, there is a huge fault that runs through southern Illinois, and a major quake there could do considerable damage in our area as well. Right now, though, I'm just wondering how to dig my car out of the snow so I can go to work tomorrow:)
Stay warm; I hope you're not getting too much snow.
Goodness...we never expect earthquakes in the middle of the country...even if we know there is a great big one...The New Madrid! The photo of the apples is wonderful...ohh white white snow with that orange! gail
Wow, what a lot of snow! And such excitement with the quake and all. How I long for just a bit of snow this winter. They are having to bring it into the mountains in BC for the Olympics. We are just not getting any in the west this year. Did the other parts of the country get all of ours??
Lovely photos, as usual, Marnie! I would think with all the snow you have had, it would be hard to find beauty in it, but you manage to quite nicely. I love the thought of deer finding a sweet treat in the snow. The good thing about those small quakes, they are over before you know what they are.
Stay warm and dry!
Beautiful, really. I love snow and the reds on it!
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Who'd a thunk, Marnie? I heard Brian Williams mention it on the news this evening. There used to be this little weekly Earth news column in our paper that showed what kinds of weather, etc. events had transpired over the past week all over the world. There would be at least a half-dozen earthquakes in various places in the world. They are as natural as breathing. Years ago, I remember a friend of mine telling me that her mother in Idaho was sitting on the toilet when everything started shaking. IDAHO seems as unlikely as Illinois but they do happen.
I mentioned this to another blogger, can't recall who now. [Memory is going.] Anyway, I told her about this cute quote I read just this morning. It went something like, "I don't mind the snow. It's the only time my lawn looks as good as my neighbor's."
And with that I'll bid you adieu. Stay warm.
Earthquake?! If my bed shook like that, I would have just thought our friendly ghost was making an appearance! lol, Glad this was just a little shake up and nothing major to deal with like out West. I am surprised the deer have not eaten all the apples but in the fall they have so much to nibble. Now they are probably not appealing to them with a rotten stench or being frozen popsicles. . I am baffled as to why the birds dont eat all the berry's I see in our neck of the woods. I see holly trees loaded with them. I guess with our mild winters, they have plenty of other stuff to nibble. Stay Warm…
Man, I was shocked when I heard ya'll had an earthquake. We have one of the largest faults here in southern Missouri and historically one of worst earthquakes in history right here in the Ozarks. We get a little tremble here once in a while. Everybody talks about the 'big one' that gonna happen one day.
You enjoy that sunshine and the many blessings that surround you. :o)
We finally got a real snowfall (yay!) but no earthquake (also, yay!). Did you do your winter sowing?!
Good morning Marnie! I'm back again.
I heard about your earthquake last night on the news ~ for once, I already knew something! Sounds like it rattled a lot of people.
I just wanted to tell you (in case you didn't know) that Lowes carries pretty nice tuteurs (if you don't want to make one). I bought one there last year (they had color choices here of blue, green & red) and I'm very happy with it. It looks similar to the picture on the book cover I won. I don't have the tools to make these things so it's handy for me when I can find them already done (although more expensive that way).
Have a good day. Hope it's done snowing for now.
It is a little unsettling when the experts are taken by surprise--or is it just a little gratifying to the rest of us folks? Anyway, your apples look darling, like those dollheads I've seen somewhere.
Marnie....earthquake, I read the paragraph twice, in case I had misread it. Did it frighten you??
Love the snow shots.....puts my weather into perspective.......
Lovely photos of the snowfall! I am glad it was only a little earthquake - no one had to go running out of the house at 4 AM!
Nothing like watching an old Jerry Lewis movie.
Doesn't sound like fun. Sorry to hear about the quake.
On the other side...love the red berries even if the birds don't.
Marnie, love the pictures. Hadn't heard about the earthquake, what a surprise that must have been!
Love your snowy fruit photos, Marnie. Really beautiful.
I am in the Western suburbs outside of Chicago and I thought my dog had jumped on the bed. I had not idea it was an earthquake until I heard it on the news. It has been a long time since the last one.
i bet that earthquake was quite a surprize. glad it did no damage to you or your house.
looked thru the snow sculptures...never heard of such a thing but very cool.
happy v~day marnie.
I've not been by in a while Ms. Marnie. Sorry for my neglect.
So, "the earth moved under your feet?"
An earthquake must make for an exciting wake-up call (although I'm sure the lovely frosty snow-covered berries make for a much more restful morning view!)
The snow I can relate to, but not an earthquake! I would have been very nervous experiencing that I think. Those red berries look very tasty .. I would think they would be gobbled up as quickly as the apples. What do the birds know about them that we don't?
Marnie, I DID hear about your earthquake! I'm so glad you have no damage and are here to tell about it, as 'unsettling' as that must have felt. When I lived in Ohio (Youngstown) during grad. school, I was sitting at my desk, studying, and thought our furnace had exploded. I went to check but nothing was wrong. I later learned we'd experienced one, too! My dishes and knick-knacks on shelves were rattling and I couldn't imagine what had happened;-)
Glad to know that you guys are safe. Well, the blooms in this post are lovely specially the apple tree ans wild berries.
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