Ash Wednesday

Dark skies this morning

 It rained very heavily in the night ... and temps dropped to 2 degrees. But there was no snow in the south. But up in the north a snow storm raged, blocking roads and keeping people indoors. Emergency services were out in force, clearing roads and checking on elderly and sick. The rains in the south here turned to hail at several moments in the afternoon and the sky was very dark. And the winds were very strong. Forecasters say the snow shall reach us this evening. I'll be prepared ... I'm planning to go out to Damascus Gate park to take some photos. They say the snow will melt very quickly so I must take advantage of the few minutes when it collects on the ground.

Empty Damascus Gate

It's Ash Wednesday and we're fasting in this cold. It's very difficult and at 3pm I had to make a cup of hot tea to stay warm. I'm spending the afternoon listening to the lenten sermons of the Fathers of the Church ... audio readings on Youtube. Some translations from the greek are literal and very difficult to understand because the grammar and idiom are very stilted and artificial. I wish someone would make a modern translation with normal english grammar and idiom so it's understandable.

I'll have to go check the skylights if rain is leaking through and down into the library. It's a scary moment every time it rains and snows. Thousands of dollars worth of books could be destroyed.