That rain reached us during the night, and now the snow is raining away.

from c. 8.30-15.30 now, and it will be less and less until the winter
solstice. If it's cloudy, there is a sort of half dusk all day. I hope it
gets colder and we get more snow soon, to lighten everything up a bit.

I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and found that it was sleeting hard
this morning when I headed out to my car to go to work.  Fortunately,
the sleet didn't last for long.  At sunset last night, the
temperature was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but a cold front came
through and it dropped to freezing overnight.  Tonight is supposed to
get down into the low 20's Fahrenheit, and tomorrow's high is
supposed to be in the low 40's.

Winters in the mid-South tend to be rainy, rather than snowy, but the
temperature can go up or down dramatically if a front moves through.
We have actually had a couple of mid-winter tornados as a result;
usually such whirlwinds are primarily a late spring/early summer
hazard.

It can be fun. Yesterday I was on my way for lunch at my Mum's, and on the
train station there was a man with a puppy. The puppy went with its nose to
the ground, and every time it came upon a clump of snow, it quickly gobbled
it up before the owner could stop it. Well, snow in itself can't really be
bad, but on a train station it's probably not very clean. Finally the owner
picked up the puppy and carried it to keep it out of the snow. He was so
cute (and the puppy wasn't hard on the eyes, either ;).

Sounds like Rocky is learning just how good a cat's life can be, compared to
his old life.

Yes, the black cat, white background, and red harness all together are
very striking.

Joyce