Tag Archives: snow

Snow Day on the Way?

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Two days ago I had the privilege to be part of a rare event. I checked the weather and noticed that a winter storm watch had been posted for later in the week. This in itself is not unusual. It is December and a storm watch is to be expected. What was special about it was that my wife had not yet noticed it.

My wife is a weather junky. Some people don’t pay attention to the weather and some people do. She falls in to the latter category. But she goes beyond just wanting to know if we will have rain later in the day. She goes to the NOAA web site and reads the meteorologist discussion page. This is where the National Weather Service meteorologists post their ideas about what they think will happen with the weather. Will the storm stall? Will the front move farther north? Will there be enough moisture to produce more or less snow? That kind of thing.

But I noticed first. That just doesn’t happen. I wish I could say it was because of some effort on my part, but frankly, it was just luck. That made me a little bit happy (well, enough for a fist pump or two) but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we are forecast to get a bunch of snow, regardless of which model is right. We might get a foot, we might get half that. Either way, it will be a snowy wonderland around here.

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Snow just starting to stick this afternoon

It started snowing early this afternoon. Rain mixed in on and off, but now that the sun has dropped, along with the temperature, we have light snow. Tonight it will come down harder. The timing could be just right for a snow day. This, of course, is exciting. I still get the thrill when I hear that school is cancelled. That just doesn’t go away I suppose. I have mixed feelings about it these days, however. Whenever school gets cancelled it is a hassle for me. I work in schools so a snow day means I have to reschedule. In a month like December, which is shortened already by the holiday break, there just aren’t many days to do that.

Whether I like it or not, however, I am still encouraged the idea of getting lots of snow. It means possibly skiing around the field and snow forts and sledding and snowballs. We were planning to go alpine skiing this coming weekend with whatever snow was available. Looks like that will work out for us pretty well.

Snow on the Ground

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A couple of days ago we got our first snow. It covered the ground and the snowplow even passed to spread sand. It stuck around for a day. We still have some snow remnants in the shadows. We have been getting snow showers on and off these past few days.

I still haven’t planted garlic. I just looked at the weather and it looks to stay close to or below freezing all week. I think I might have blown it. Once the ground really freezes up it will be too late. I might get a chance, but the pace I have been working on getting things done these days might mean that task stays undone.

Winter has made itself known. Bring in an armload of wood and stoke the fire. It’s cold out. And it isn’t heating up any time soon.

 

Spring Getting the Shove

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Earlier this week the temperature was close to 80 degrees. Yesterday morning we had a couple inches of snow on the ground. It had been warm enough that things started to flood. Then the floodwater started to freeze over. Early in the day yesterday we had a chilled lake across the road, popping and cracking as the water settled in the cold.

By the afternoon some of the snow had melted. The high temperature was 33 degrees, briefly, so the sun did all the work on that project. The water rose, enough that it flowed over the road by the bridge. The town road crew did a lot of work last summer to keep that in check but it still gets high enough at times to cause some serious erosion.

Wading to check out the water under the bridge

Wading to check out the water under the bridge

This morning it was 18 degree, what the meteorologists would call “unseasonable.” I have been wanting to get started on our garden but it still looks like this:

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Not exactly workable soil

Last year I had started planting in March. So it goes in this hardiness zone. Lots of folks complain about the snow and cold. I get it. But it was stunningly beautiful the past couple of mornings. I find it hard to complain about that. Spring is underway. Winter just wants some last licks. By next week the boots won’t leave the closet and we will start asking when we should remove the snow tires. And then everyone will complain about the mud.

Frost after tax day

Frost after tax day

Snow Day Number Two

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We had another snow day today. The snow fell all last night and most of the day today. It is hard to tell just how much snow fell. The wind blew hard. We may have gotten two feet. We had “blizzard-like” conditions. A blizzard needs to have sustained winds of 35 miles per hour for three hours. We did not quite meet that definition. A severe blizzard also has temperatures of 10 degrees or lower. We started the day at 14 degrees. So I guess we just had a snowstorm.

I stayed inside for a while, although the kids did get out early. They didn’t last long in the cold and wind, but they went out several times throughout the day. I figured I would start with breakfast. Since I did not have to drive anywhere I used what would have been my commuting time to make home fries.

I paired these hot crispy potatoes with a hot omelette

I paired these hot crispy potatoes with a hot omelette

The snow did let up eventually. I took a walk in the afternoon when it was falling lightly, although the wind was still pretty fierce.

The town road crew got the road passable, but wind kept the drifts coming

The town road crew got the road passable, but wind kept the drifts coming

There's a river under there somewhere

There’s a river under there somewhere

By the end of the day the sun came out for a bit, the light low across the white landscape. Before the sun set the world turned pink. After a dinner of soup and hot sandwiches, we all headed back outside again. We fell backward off the hill into a huge snowdrift and flipped upside down into the pile the plow had left. We tossed snow at each other in the dark. We came inside red-faced and a little soggy. After some reading together the children headed up to bed. Two days off and they are back to school tomorrow. I worked a bunch from home today but I am back at it myself once the sun comes up. It was a great couple of days in our house. We have to enjoy the snow when it comes, and we did.

Late day sun on Camel's Hump

Late day sun on Camel’s Hump

 

Not Spring Now

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Snow coming down hard

Snow coming down hard

It started snowing early in the day. School was cancelled. Then the snow let up. I went to work. Luckily I only was in town half the day. The drive home was slick and slow. Then it really started to snow. By late in the day it was coming down and the wind picked up. And the temperature dropped. We had ourselves a snowstorm.

I went for a ski around the field. It was fine when I had my back to the wind but heading into the wind–ouch! Those little crystals of ice are painful when they slam into one’s face. My hood was a handy tool. By my second lap my ski tracks were almost filled in.

Skiing in the blowing snow

Skiing in the blowing snow

This morning the snow was still falling. Drifts piled against the house. I could only see out half the bedroom window. No school today. I will get some work done from home. First, however, I plan to rekindle the fire in the stove and to brew some coffee. And to appreciate being warm inside.

Sneak Peak at Spring

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Blue Sky Day

Blue Sky Day

We’ve got Camel’s Hump and the waxing moon and a little snow and blue sky, not to mention 41 degrees. That is your fine spring scene for you. The road was a bit muddy–really muddy on the edges. I got sucked in a bit when I was forced over by a passing truck. No matter–I cleaned off my boots in the grainy snow.

I walked out to get some air and to see what I could see. The afternoon was stunning, I tell you. I unzipped my jacket. I took off my gloves. I watched a red tailed hawk soar out over the fields and catch dinner. I was feeling pretty good. At the river I stopped and examined it for a bit. I saw lots of ice with water pooled on top, animal tracks criss-crossing the wet snow on the surface, and just a small area of open water. Soon there will be beavers and mallards and kingfishers here.

Not much open water right now

Not much open water right now

Almost back to the house and I heard something I haven’t heard since fall–the echoing call of a killdeer. I thought I might have been mistaken. Perhaps it was just a robin behind some trees, the sound twisted by the landscape? So I listened. I heard it again. Then I spotted it way out there–white and brown moving against the white and brown. I tromped over the snow and ice and dried grass until I got close enough to see it well. Then I heard another and spotted that one, too. Then another. Now that is a sign that spring is just about here.

Killdeer here early

Killdeer here early

Tomorrow it is forecast to snow. A lot. We might get a foot or more by the time it stops. The annual battle between winter and spring seems to have begun. We will enjoy the snow–sledding, skiing, digging. I imagine the snow will not stick around long. Then we will enjoy spring. Winter and spring both offer a lot to amaze me. I can’t go wrong this time of year.

Natural Hierarchy

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We have lots of tree sparrows at our house. They come for the food. Under the feeder this morning we had a few pecking away at seeds that had fallen to the snow.

American tree sparrows

American tree sparrows

But then some bigger birds came along and shooed the sparrows away. Whatever. The sparrows will be back. But hey, cardinals! A pair of them! Sweet!

Male and female cardinal

Male and female cardinal

Then the mammals came out. A gray squirrel came along and scared off the cardinals. Too bad. But hey, squirrels are cute.

Gray squirrel takes over the seed zone

Gray squirrel takes over the seed zone

The squirrel, however, decided to leave. The new kid came along and, even though it was not interested in seeds from the feeder, intimidated the little furry-tailed guy a bit too much.

Coyote hunting for mice (or squirrels)

Coyote hunting for mice (or squirrels)

I can hardly wait to see what comes next.

 

Icy Situation

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Bus on the Icy Road

It started raining yesterday afternoon. By evening it was really coming down. The snow turned to mush. Water poured from the roof. It was winter at it ugliest. It was a bit of a mess. But we were snug inside. No problem.

It was still raining in the morning. I did the usual routine to get ready for work. I was sitting at the table, eggs for breakfast, reading something or other and my wife says, “Whoa, look at how slowly the school bus is moving.” I look out to see one car sliding toward the side of the road, then stop. Then I see the school bus emerge from behind some trees, poking along. “Must be icy.”

At the curve in our dirt road the bus starts to slide. Slowly it slips toward the snow-filled ditch. Then it stops. Like slow motion only it really was moving slowly. Now the bus is sideways to the road but can’t move. It is too icy. Tires spin. One car passes the bus (not sure what that was about) then gets stuck on the slight hill. A couple other cars turn around at the end of the road, the drivers seeing what is up. My wife calls the town garage to let them know.

That was why I was late for work. The bus eventually got going, with the help of lots of sand. One of the stuck cars got going. The other was still there, hazard light flashing, when I finally decided to give the driving a go. It was, indeed, icy. I didn’t get to work quickly.

Drama for the morning it was. It is still raining. Freezing tonight. Could be another adventurous morning.

Weather This Week

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Is this really going to get washed away by rain?

Is this really going to get washed away by rain?

Anyone can talk about the weather. It is a universal conversation. In New England it is more of a conversation topic than in some other places. Santa Barbara-ites probably don’t have as much passion about the weather as we do here in Vermont. They still discuss it, I am sure, just not as much. But is hard not to talk about it when it gets so crappy changes so drastically. So here is my mini-conversation with you and me about the weather, only I am doing all the talking here.

I love weather. One of the things I love about living here is that it does change. It is sometimes hard to believe that the same landscape that has bare trees and gray skies and brown fields can host singing meadowlarks and blooming daisies and puffy cumulus clouds, that a stinging sleet can be replaced a few months later by a gentle warm rain. I mean, how could I not be amazed by that when it is so amazing? Winter, however, is the hardest season. I don’t mean to say that winter is difficult because it is cold, or the days are shorter, or the sun doesn’t shine as strongly. Those things are a challenge to some degree, sure, but it is the snow that pulls out the emotions in me.

We had a snow day last Friday. This is a huge hassle for me. I work in schools, so with school cancelled I had to call it a day as well. This means I have to reschedule things when I have few, or often no, days to reschedule them. It means more work and missed work and generally a nuisance all around. But we had a snow day. A snow day is the coolest, most awesome thing around. Lots of snow falling and making things beautiful and brightening the world and filling in all the cracks and crevices so we can play in it? That is just the best. So it is a pain but it is the greatest thing ever. That is what I mean by pulling out the emotions. Love and hate it, that kind of thing.

Once the snow is cleared from roads and walkways and doors, things get back to normal for the most part, but then we still have snow on the ground. This means snow forts and skiing around the field and snowballs tossed at the kids walking down to meet the bus and, again, the beauty of it all. I love the snow, and so does everyone else in our cozy house. When we have snow we are all happy about it. But guess what? Tomorrow or the next day it is going to rain. Now, I love rain. I love a warm summer rain or a cold autumn rain or a good thunder shower. But I do not like rain when it threatens to soak into and wash away my precious snow. It means first slush and then ice and no more snow forts or skiing around the field or snowballs. It means brown crust and slippery walking. I do not like rain after snow.

Winter is for snow, not for rain, at least around here. Rain in March, I can handle. I mean, winter has to end sometime and I can deal with that. But it is February. We should be getting more snow. I want to be able to ski out my door every day. The forecast calls for rain and then freezing temperatures. Ouch. No snow on the horizon.

Until another day. I am sure we will get snow again. I can’t really complain. Weather is just weather, not something to gripe about. I can dislike some of it and feel OK with that. It is a waste of energy to complain about the weather. I am just letting you know how it makes me feel in this case. Most of the time I love the weather, whatever it is. When it gets to 10 below zero I say bring it–if it is going to be that cold then why not 20 below? Wind is an audio delight, lightning is exciting, heat makes the tomatoes grow faster. But rain on top of snow, followed by a freeze? That just shouldn’t be allowed.

Chilled Bluebirds

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Bluebird Pondering Making a February Nest?

The site of bluebirds has been pretty common lately. Robins have been around as well. I am not sure if they never left, or if they have just returned way early. I suppose I didn’t see any for about a month, but for the past month they have been hanging out in the maple tree, on the birdhouses, in the pines. It has been mild enough, with little enough snow, that apparently they have enough to eat.

Walking down to meet the school bus the other morning I heard a bird singing. Up in a white pine next to the driveway a bluebird was trilling away. Seriously? Early February and a bluebird is not only hanging around but singing? Not even just a simple call, but a song? Too weird.

We have lived in this house five winters now and I have seen bluebirds late in winter, but never this early, or as late in the fall, as this season. It has been so warm that we have speculated that the sap is running. Last week we had a stretch of days with highs in the forties and nights with lows in the teens–perfect sugaring weather. Except it is early February.

I love bluebirds. I love maple syrup. I love spring. But we have yet to have one big snowstorm. Let me say that again: We have not yet had a major snowstorm. Our driveway was plowed once, twice if you count the sanding when it was super icy. I am not yet ready for bluebirds and sugaring. I am ready for snow.

I don’t want to harp on this weather thing, but criminy, can we get some snow already? Today was cold at least. Our high temperature was 12. Yesterday it was 15. If it had been really windy, and we had gotten two feet of snow, it would have been a blizzard. Then I would have been able to say “Poor bluebirds.” Instead I can feel bad for the guy who plows our driveway. So much for that extra income on his part.

It was warm again this coming week. I guess those thrushes will have plenty of reason to stick around until spring really does come. And maybe we will get a bumper crop of maple syrup. I mean, heck, why not look on the bright side of this? I can do that for one winter. For one winter. Another winter of this would make me loony.