Mt. Etna Erupts (again)

This morning we walked out the door to a cloud of ash floating over our heads.  Mt. Etna put on a pretty good show this morning.  Though we weren't out early enough in the dark morning to see the lava flow, we saw the after effects.  She is such a beautiful mountain, our 'gentle giant,' and loves to show off every now and again.  We've grown to love our view of her, and the amazing shows she puts on.  This past weekend when we went up there was plenty of snow, granted it was melting, but certainly not at the accelerated pace that happened today.

The volcanic ash is a lot different here from what I've seen in the past.  When I was in elementary school Mt. Spur erupted in Alaska and the ash was fine, much like soot from a fire.  However, here the ash is more like small, small rocks.  As we were driving and then walking into our doctor appointment this morning you could hear it hitting the car and the trees around us.  As we walked indoors I had to brush the ash out of my hair and off my clothes.

Here are a few photos from the day:

Mt. Etna during the eruption, with all the snow on top.  (This photo was not taken by me, but I'm unsure
who to give the credit to.  I'm sorry!)

Mt. Etna after the eruption, that is steam and ash coming from the top.

You can see from our driveway where the
ash covers the ground.  The upper
area is covered by the carport.