snow trouble et al

Some more pics from the recent snow. Click on each to upgrade to big size.

In order these are: the front of the house as seen from the yard, our neighbor to the north's barn, our southern neighbor's back yard, the road in front of our house.

We're In Deep

Winter had taken a 2-week vacation, but yesterday she was back and made up for lost time. Remember those pictures Keith took last summer of our front yard? How green it looked? Here's a contrast for you! Walking around the yard is difficult. The shallowest places are the paths we've had to blaze and reblaze with each new snow fall. The snow's only about a foot deep there and fairly well crusted. Elsewhere it ranges from 2-4 feet deep, the deepest being where it gets mounded up. You can see that in the picture: that's not a wall down front, it's where the plows have piled up what was in the road.

In general, road conditions have been good. The only bad days have been the actual day it snows and possibly the day after. Between the snow plows and traffic the roads are kept clear and driving isn't a problem. Parking on the streets, trying to walk on the sidewalks or shoulders of the roads: those are different stories.

It's supposed to rain Thursday and Friday...

The Beach, Pandora

Time for my monthly trip to York to check my mail drop. I brought Pandora and she got to go for a walk on the beach.

Happy Valentine's Day

We both had to work, but still got to start and end the day together.

Turkey Trot

We spotted some more wild turkeys in the area yesterday. I don't know if any from the family we saw in our yard a couple of times earlier in the year were among them, but it won't be all of them. I'm told the males and females will be hanging out in their own separate groups at this time of the season. These were in our neighbor's yard and hightailed it out when I started getting close with my camera.

Turkeys aren't the only animals we're seeing, of course. Carrie put out a block of suet that jays, cardinals, chickadees, and many other birds have been enjoying. But one of the squirrels found it and finished it off. Everybody will have to be satisfied with just the seeds for now.

Freezing Our Assets

It started a couple of days ago. Snow melt off our roof had gotten down along the front door and frozen, mostly at the base. I had a difficult time pulling the door open from the inside. The day being sunny and warm, I had no trouble getting back into the house after work.

The next day, though, more water had frozen at the base of the door and we had to go out the back door in order to get around to the front and then shoulder it open.

That night, water was dripping from the frame around one of the windows in our bedroom. The one closest my comics.

Today, along with calling the landlord to report the problem, I was out clearing snow and ice off the roof. The ice dam along the edge was a good five inches thick. Carrie got out her big rubber mallet for me to use to shatter it and a kind neighbor came over with her roofrake so I could reach more of the snow.

Of course afterwards I had to shovel it all again to clear out the porch and part of the driveway.