Pre-Spring 2011 - An Evaluation

Another thaw has arrived, it feels like spring is on its way!  (Mar. 4, 2011)

And none too soon -- the firewood supply is running low, with only one-and-a-half racks remaining.

Six wood racks have been emptied over the winter so far, moved out of the way.

I might make it through the wood stove heating season, but with another good month to go it's going to be close.

Chip Ahoy looks just as I left it last fall after covering it with the tarps. Vaughn McGrath's mast resting alongside it seems to have fared the weather well too.

That's more than I can say about the bushes and trees in the yard. This one in the middle looks like being buried under so much snow has done it in.

The tall arborvitaes along the path between Barbara's and my houses took a beating from the first heavy snowfall of 2011, on Jan. 12.

The weight of that two feet of snow snapped a few large branches, bending the trees painfully.

The trees bent over the path, the broken branches became roadblocks.

I had to cut through them with my chainsaw to open the path. It looks like we'll need a lot of clean-up come spring.

Another tree along the southeast perimeter suffered a broken branch.

The last sumac was felled in that big storm, will need to be removed.

The apple tree too is down, another victim. I'm hoping it's not dead but expect the worst.

A view of the back of the house with its lean-to. More firewood is stored beneath for emergencies, along with the snowblower. Chip Ahoy is parked on the far side of the house.

A view of the shed and covered picnic table furniture.

No more snow atop the table -- a big improvement from Feb 1 -- but it's still surrounded.

The wood stove's ash heap behind the shed.

A view of the kitchen side of the house, with firewood cart and barbeque grill outside the cat door and sliding glass entry.

One of the bird feeders, alongside the shed.

The arborvitaes still have quite a bend to their tops.

Even the mountain out front that's blocking Chip Ahoy is diminishing, though hardly noticeably so.

Looking down from the mountain peak.

The mountaintop up close.

The melt-and-freeze is creating some interesting structures. While above freezing is becoming more common during the day, night temperatures are still dropping into the 20s and even teens.

Yours truly atop the mountain, planting the flag.

It's going to be a while yet before I can pull Chip Ahoy out to the front of the house and begin Sailing Season 2011 launch preparations.

The First Day of Spring Flurries
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