A bird threat, flash flooding, and now snow in Austin

Wow—we're off to an interesting year. Last week it was a dead bird scare; and this week we were hit with flash flooding and snow! (Yes, it snows in Texas. Not often—but it happens.)

When the roads freeze over, cities in Texas tend to shut down. If you're from a cold region, this sounds a little silly. But unfortunately, it happens so infrequently here that we're not prepared for it. We drive on summer tires year round (well, I do anyway); we don't have ice-scrapers or salt-trucks; and our roads are designed to withstand 100F+ conditions, not 20F, so they are very slippy when iced.

I took this shot this morning to give you an idea what it's like out there:

I went back to the grocery store today for more supplies; and while cutting through the "snacks and chips" aisle, I couldn't help notice how ransacked it was. Apparently, massive consumption of potato chips is how folks in the area make it though the cold nights: