And, to see my favorite photo of the year, see this picture of mother and daughter.

Full details and more photos below.
So, the big news around the Washington D.C./Baltimore area is the Blizzard of 2010. The commotion got off to a start on Thursday morning when the National Weather Service predicted 7-14 inches of snow between Friday morning ans Saturday night. As Thursday progressed, that estimate went to 10-20 inches, then 16-24, and then to 18-24 inches. By this stage, there was a general sense or purpose that had set in.

That night in D.C., the grocery stores were slammed by residents looking to ride out the storm. Meredith and I had our own troubles here in Baltimore that evening as we tried to stock up on food and essentials.

The snow started in earnest yesterday afternoon (see left), and really started to pick up overnight. The NWS also upgraded the area from a Winter Storm Warning to a Blizzard Warning, due to the high winds and the volume of slow, and said some areas could expect more than 30 inches of snow. I noticed my neighbor’s tree had lost a limb to the snow at about 2 a.m., and went outside to shake the branches on my trees just in case.

This morning, I measured 21 inches of snow in the street, but that was 6 hours ago and it’s been snowing the whole time. I shoveled the walk enough that we can make our way outside if we need to, and I filled up the bird feeders as well. The area behind the house was indicative of the the area.

The TV (wow, watching local news adopt to a 24-hour news cycle for one story is an amazing look at what’s wrong with the whole concept) is reporting the storm is beginning to pass and we should see sunlight around 5:30. At this stage, I don’t know that it will matter—nobody is going anywhere any time soon. Cars are buried, the streets are indistinguishable from the sidewalks, and you’d have to be crazy to attempt driving in these conditions.

So, I’ve been incredibly silent in this space lately, but it’s warranted. Work has been incredibly busy (you can see some of my recent photos from a Capitol Hill event here, for example), but I think I’ll be posting more often in the coming weeks. I have some New Mexico posts swirling around in my brain waiting to be written, and it is time for fall photography, which I hope to do more of this year than last.

If you haven’t already, go see Meredith’s new site. She’s showcasing a lot of her recent class projects, book designs, poetry and photography, and the girl is nothing if not a witty blogger.

Many thanks to my Aunt Margie for letting me stand up in her SUV and shoot through the sunroof.

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