Winter 2008-09
February 3-4, 2009
The snow just keeps coming, and coming down.
Is February heading for another record-breaking month?

The snow began falling yesterday in the late morning, in a series of three separate but non-stop overlapping events.  At 7:30 in the evening it was still coming down, and continued lightly by steadily through the night.  (Feb. 3, 2009)

This morning the plow arrived at just after 7:00 and cleared the lot out front.  It's almost time for me bundle up and head out to move around a bunch of that white stuff all over again.  (Feb. 4, 2009)

Well, maybe after another cup of coffee, and some shots from just outside the kitchen door . . .

The birds out there were awake and foraging as usual. Hungry little buggers they are this early, especially with the ground covered.

At about 8:30 and a couple cups of coffee later it was time to suit up and get out there, take some "before" shots before proceeding with the digging-out all over again.

Sheesh, the mountain of snow in front of Chip Ahoy is growing again -- out now more than up. If this keeps going on I may need to begin tunneling to get to the firewood racks!

It looks like another 6-8 inches deposited from this storm. Ah well, let the digging-out begin anew. At least it's light and fluffy.

Sunday's re-covering of Chip Ahoy's aft tarp seems to have been effective in eliminating the pocket.

By 10:30 I had all the digging-out done, mostly by snowthrower. The fluffy snow was moved easily.

Paths to the shed, one of the birdfeeders, and around the shed to where I dump the ashes from the wood-burning stove.

A view from the birdfeeder back to the house and beyond. That tarp-covered picnic furniture will be buried until May, it appears.

Oh yeah, it'll be a while before this will be uncovered.

At least I can reach the firewood racks. Note that half the supply has been used up already. There should be enough remaining to get through to the other end of winter.

There's a lot of snow that went into creating that mountain.

Maybe I'll be able to squeeze Chip Ahoy out beneath the tree, between the wood racks and the mountain, by April?

The re-covering last Sunday of Chip Ahoy does seem to have done the trick.

A wide and clear path from firewood racks to the kitchen door on the side of the house, and beyond. Good until the next snowstorm.

The paths out to the shed and alongside the house to the bird feeders out back. I didn't bother with these after the last snow/slush storm, but digging them out today with the snowthrower was pretty easy.

Oh yeah, re-covering Chip Ahoy was definitely worth the effort, even though I had to sink up to my knees climbing through over a foot of snow just to reach it. The tarp is standing up to the snow much better -- no more pockets to accumulate ice.

Mission accomplished, for today at least, until the next storm and doing it all over again. Though below freezing, by early afternoon it's already begun to melt through radiational warming.

Another shot from the small deck out my second floor office door of the birdfeeder paths out back. I store the snowblower beneath the deck and lean-to, along with a stack of emergency firewood.

Thursday, February 5, 2009
Morning After the Dig-Out

My office deck and the lean-to beneath. Though sunny this morning it is quite cold, the temperature is only 5º F. (Feb. 5, 2009)

Another shot of the stacked, covered and buried picnic table furniture.

Chip Mate the dinghy is starting to look like an igloo again, but beneath it is quite a home for outside critters, almost a prefab cave.

It should be melted off and accessible in time for my annual extended cruise next summer.

The front path to the kitchen door has frozen over solid once again, thanks to that roof downspout as the snow on the roof melts.

Go to "After the Thaw" (Feb. 8, 2009)
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