Tag Archives: snow

Snow at Last

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White Stuff in the Viewshed

Finally we got some snow yesterday. We spent an hour or so outside as a family last night tossing the stuff at each other. We got wet. We got chilly. We slept well. Today we had good reason to play. We sledded. We skied on the hill and in the field. We had some good fun. The temperature never got all that high. It was in the single digits by the afternoon. Still, we could not stay in all day. The wood stove did its duty for us today.

The temperature should get below zero tonight. We will snuggle down and sleep well again. We will still have snow again tomorrow. The parents in the household need to decide if skiing is worth it with wind chills in the negatives. Skiing? To be determined. We will play one way or the other. I just hope the snow sticks around.

Waiting For Snow

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Giant Snowballs Waiting for the Big Storm

 

We might get some snow tomorrow. We’ll see. In one scenario, it falls heavily just as the morning commute is humming. Could be messy. Could be a snow day. In another scenario, we get a little snow to make things pretty, then done. Like I said, we’ll see.

The last almost inch we got the children rolled what they could into giant lumps and made a wall. Once we get more snow it will be a great place to sneak behind when tossing the fluffy stuff back and forth. Or so they think. They are not as tall as I am, but still, it isn’t very high. But those are some awesome giant snowballs and don’t try to argue any differently. They do, however, look a little lonely on the lawn.

I need to drive about 50 minutes tomorrow morning. At least it takes me about that long on a good day. Could be longer tomorrow. Or we get a snow day. That would be great except for the rescheduling hassle. Either way it will work out. I will take what I get.

No matter what I look forward to some snow. It has been lacking. Bogus, if you ask me. Someone pointed out to me the other day that it sure saves on the plowing bill. Truth, that. And you can’t get stuck in a snowbank. But shoot, what is winter for? If we have cold, we might as well have snow. That is the attitude in our house. And that is not changing any time soon.

I hope those giant snow lumps get covered in the morning. It sure would make them look dandy. And who doesn’t like dandy?

Rain?

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So far this fall–winter as of today–we have had one decent snowfall. We were away, in Florida of all places, when that snow fell. By the time we got back it was pretty much gone. Today it rains.

The winter solstice usually offers more than this weather. We did have snow flurries this morning but now it warm enough for things to simply be wet.  That is just no good.

Ski areas are in a bind. They have made snow and some have been open with a trail or two, but mostly, the season has been a dud so far. We were hoping to ski the day after Christmas. That won’t happen.  The high school in town has a sign out front with general notices. Last weekend: “Nordic meet cancelled.” So much for skiing.

There is a small chance we might get snow in the next week. I won’t count on it.

Signs of Spring

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Over the past few weeks I have seen lots of signs that spring is on the way. Yesterday being the first full day, astronomically at least, of spring, it seemed apt to post a list. The first was three weeks ago, when I saw a red winged blackbird perched in the sugar maple where we hang the bird feeders. It was hunkering against the onslaught of snow. We got two feet of snow that day and I couldn’t help but anthropomorphize that bugger and make him ask “Why couldn’t I have waited a few days at least?”  Here are some others:

  • The other morning I went for a run and heard a woodcock doing its spring dance over the field across the road. I am always happy to hear woodcocks in the morning. My heart leaps up, as Wordsworth said, when I hear that bizarre “peenting.” The thing is, however, that the field across the road was covered in snow and ice. It had been flooded so it was like a frozen lake covered in snow. And the woodcock was doing its best to attract a mate. What boys won’t do to get some.
  • Recently there were five different types of birds in the same tree–the same as the one with the blackbird: blue jay, cardinal, chickadee, robin and bluebird. It was a colorful site. The bluebird kept hopping from branch to bird house. Nesting on the mind.
  • Mud. There is a spot up the hill on our dirt road that makes for a woozy ride. It doesn’t look muddy but the car slides back and forth every time. I love driving that way. The car, of course, is pretty much filthy.
  • Sugaring in on full force. It looks to be a productive spring for sugar makers. Good news for those of us who like love the stuff.
  • Yesterday we had a few good blasts of snow. OK that sounds more like winter, but those wet spring snow storms that look like winter is desperately trying to stick around make me realize that spring really is just about here.
  • Turkey vultures and red-tailed hawks are circling the meadows.
  • Yesterday I drove to work without boots. I just wore plain old shoes. The transition from wearing boots and switching to shoes inside, to forgetting the boots, has begun.
  • Crocuses (croci?) are popping up. Those puppies are sturdy. They had started to pop up right before that two feet of snow. And they are still green.
  • Kids walk to school in shorts and a T-shirt. I keep seeing that. I know that the young set has and will continue to parade to school without appropriate attire for the weather. This seems a right of passage (although I am proud to say I never felt the need to express my coolness through the acquisition of hypothermia) but dude, it isn’t that warm. I mean, we had snow yesterday and today. Wear a jacket dumbass.

And there will be more. Leaves haven’t budded out yet. I haven’t smelled a skunk. But in time. Before I know it I’ll be digging in the dirt and planting seeds. I can hardly wait.

Snow All Day

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We got the call yesterday afternoon. School would be closed. Work was closed. We weren’t going anywhere. And we stuck to that. And it snowed all day. OK, it did stop for a brief time, maybe an hour, but otherwise it fell and fell. It falls still. The stuff is deep. Typically we get the “January thaw,” a period of warmish weather above freezing. That is when the basement floods and the snow turns to slush and all the dirt starts to show. But not this year. It stayed cold and we got lots snow.

We kept the fire going in the woodstove and cozied up. I made pancakes for breakfast and zucchini bread for the afternoon. I took the failing produce in the refrigerator and made some soup stock. I made homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. I kept the house warm by cooking.

We skied in the field and sledded on the hill and dug tunnels. We made roads for toy trucks and fell backward into the poof. We had a good time, outside and inside. My gauge for the depth of snow is the snowman my son and I made recently. Here is how it played out:

The Benchmark: Four Days Ago, Just Born

1:19 PM: Snowing Like Stink

4:20 PM: Still More Snow

5:32 PM: Snowing Like Stink Again

And it is forecast to snow all night. Sleep tight, Snowman!

Update 2/3:

8:11 Next Morning: Good Thing He Has That Pipe

Update 2/5: More snow is forecast for today, but our snowman, in the meantime, has some sun to take in:

February 5, 8:22 AM: Melting Has Begun But More Snow Coming

Update 2/6: Lots of snow last night again–snowman buried after I found the hat blown into the trees:

February 6, 8:06 AM: Put Your Hands in the Air...

Zero and Snow

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The temperature is, right now, zero degrees. It was cold today, high of eleven, but it is colder now. Below zero is what we will get tonight. I don’t want to harp on the weather. I mean, people talk about the weather a lot. It is a topic we all have in common. Strangers talk about it with each other. People with strained relationships talk about it. Long time friends talk about it. Of course, more people complain about it than talk about it, but still, I love weather. When it gets down to zero, I get excited. Below zero? It’s like a party at our house.

We also have some snow on the way. My wife is a weather junky. She doesn’t just check the forecast more than most people; she reads the detailed forecast discussion. This discussion is the chatter amongst meteorologists. They have their own language and she understands it. Here is an excerpt, referring to Tuesday into Wednesday:

AS OF 348 PM EST MONDAY...WK BOUNDARY MVS EAST OVER SOUTHERN NEW
ENGLAND DURING THE DAY TUESDAY. EXPECTING SNOW TO OVERSPREAD CWA
FROM S TO N BY MIDDAY. HEAVIEST MDL QPF TOTALS REMAIN TO THE
SOUTHERN ZONES IN PROXIMITY TO PASSING FEATURE. GOING FOR 1-3"
NORTH AND UP TO 2-4" SOUTH...WITH MAIN FOCUS OVER HIR TRRN. MDLS
TRENDING TOWARDS BREAK IN PRECIP BY MIDNGT WED BFR MAIN SURGE OF
SNOW BEGINS FROM LARGER LOW TOWARDS 09Z-12Z WED. THIS LOW WILL
TAKE SIMILAR TRACK AS PREVIOUS FEATURE...OVERSPREADING CWA BY 18Z
WED WITH LARGE QPF PLUME.

See what I’m saying? She gets this stuff. That is why I rely on her to keep me in the loop. The forecast changes enough that I think I know what is going on but I am often relying on old (like several hours old) predictions. She updates me when I have no idea, which is more often than I should admit. I do keep up on the forecast quite a bit, mind you, but I’m can’t say I’m sure what a “QPF plume” is.

The actual forecast calls for 8-14 inches of snow where we live over the next couple of days. That would be pretty sweet, if you ask me. Could be a snow day. Of course, a snow day for me is a hassle, as I have to rearrange my work schedule, but I’ll take it anyway. And it won’t be quite so cold. No blizzard for us, just plenty of that fluffy white stuff to keep things beautiful and to play in.

It is sometimes hard to believe that spring is only a couple of months away. I ordered seeds yesterday. At some point all this beautiful snow will melt and I will turn the soil and plant spinach and peas. Until then, however, I am going to slip on my ski boots and enjoy it while we’ve got it. Although, admittedly, I will probably wait until we get at least into single digit temperatures before I head outside.

Snow Dude

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We took a nordic ski around the field this afternoon– a post-lunch sticky slip walk. Our skis held the snow well. The glide was less than the kick. We didn’t stay out all that long. Snow has been falling on and off all day so hopefully conditions will improve for tomorrow. The warm conditions made for excellent snow sculpturing possibilities, however. My son and I slapped around the white stuff and made a guardian for our home. Here he or she (undecided) stands:

Notice the Groovy Pocket

That Hat is Handy As New Snow Falls, Especially With No Legs to Get Out of the Weather

Serious Cold on the Way

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Sunny Winter Day, For Now

In the wee hours this morning the temperature at our house dropped to 3 degrees. We stayed above zero. The high today has been 16 degrees. Pretty standard winter situation happening. Tonight we will have some colder weather, maybe 10 below. The temperature will barely top zero tomorrow. Monday will be even colder, with 20 below predicted for Sunday night and a daytime high of -2. Plus some wind. It will be chilly.

When I moved to Burlington years ago we had a cold snap. The temperature dropped to 39 below zero. I was disappointed. The record low was 40 below. If it is going to be that cold, why not break the record? We have a warm house. The woodstove warms us right now. It will tomorrow as well.

I find this serious cold exciting. Weather extremes in general are exciting. They give us something to share with our neighbors. They give us stories to tell. They remind me of my humanity. They make me feel alive. Digging out from a snowstorm, or getting stuck at home for a while, humble me. I feel small and part of the larger world. Our artificial human constraints let us forget that we are not in control. We cannot rule the weather. Given that we tend to be so self-serving as a species, that is for the best.

We will have some clear nights coming up. Good for watching stars. And for curling up on the couch with a book. I will try to do some of both.

How to Clear a Roof

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When it snows a lot, one sometimes has to be creative to get the snow cleared. I have used a snow rake myself many a time, and I have even stood up on the roof with a shovel to shove the white stuff to the ground. This morning I was at Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee. They made the work go a little quicker by hauling a small snowblower up a ladder and using the power of internal combustion to remove the foot of snow on a shallow roof. Creativity at its best.

Caution: Slippery

Snow Removal from Walkway Now Required

Snow This Morning

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Fresh Snow

Getting Out in It

We have more snow this morning. It threatened to turn to freezing rain but we lucked out and got only some sleet mixed in instead. We have been skiing around the field the past month or so and It has been great fun. We took a few laps this morning as the snow fell. I need to do a little driving in it in a few. I hoped it might let up for that part of my day but one takes what one can get.

We have perhaps more weather in store for the end of the week. I won’t complain about that, as long as it is snow. Heck, even then I won’t complain, although I admit I will be saddened to lose any snow we have collected. We’ll have to see what comes.