Snowy Day (Hooray!)

Blurry chickadee photo

We put out bird feeders (5 so far including the suet).   They came.

We were supposed to get 1 - 3 " last night, and more than a foot today.  The forecast has been downgraded to 8" - 1 ft today.   Sigh.   Oh well.  This is almost perfect "try out the snow blower" weather, once the wind slows down.

In the last two days we got groceries, gasoline (for the snow blower and for the generator, in case), and another bird seed bucket.   It is Sunday, and we don't have to go anywhere.   First serious snow falls don't get much better.

Sparrows showed up at the feeders for the first time today, in the storm.

First snow and the vote

Snow on the rose

Snow and roses is a good combination.

Maybe I should tidy up the porch before we trip over things under the snow.      And, we need to...bring up the table by the road; bring in the heavy equipment; oil/grease the tractor; trim hooves; pull up the temporary fencing; bring in the last rutabaga; get snow tires on the car and new tires on the truck; move hay that needs to get moved in the barn; put away pallets; put away tarps; bring in the farm sign (needs repairs); clean out more of the sheep pen....

But, the list of inside-the-house chores looks good this morning too.

Maybe I'll try a bit of both.  But, the important thing is to remember to vote.

More mild weather: snow, sleet and ice

Winter came back spitting a mix of snow, sleet and ice.   The nearby University of Maine is shut down for the day.   Rain is in the forecast for this afternoon.

I like the way the front door mat looks after I drag a shovel across it to clear the doorway.

Another indicator of a mild winter so far -- the farm sign by the front door normally blows off a few times at the beginning of the season.  After a little cursing, it is brought in for the winter.  The sign is still there!

I just came inside from clearing the driveway and paths.   There isn't much snow, but I wanted to try to move some of it before the rain creates slush, and the evening turns the slush to ice.

I cut a gentle path up to the house, and to the barn.We use a small John Deere tractor and snow blower attachment.   I like that it can spread the snow thinly over a wide area, rather than making big snow plow mounds.  The area looks less disturbed and quieter.

I'm in a good mood because there wasn't much wind, and that wind was heading the right way, so I didn't get a snoot full of sleet from the blower.   Soaked hat and gloves are recovering by the wood stove.   Hot chocolate is calling.

March 15, 2011

It is one of those very rare days when the snow is so dense from rising temperatures that I can walk on it without sinking.   I can even climb drifts!  The coming world of spring has been my basement for the last couple of weeks, but now the world has opened up and I can go anywhere for a brief period until the snow softens, and makes me sink again.

Copra onions (Fedco seed) growing in the basement under lights.

Some wild seed on the snow, out beyond the pasture.

We can't mend fencing like this until the snow melts some more, and the fence can be pulled up.  Right now, it is frozen down.   Luckily, the sheep don't want to come out this far through the snow.

Winter rye that was planted last summer is starting to appear in a couple of corners of the vegetable beds.

Tracks crossing a fence that needs mending.  Cat?  Coyote?  Coyote tracking a cat?

The day after - digging out

When the snow is the deeper than the height of the porch, I can't just scrape off the porch anymore.  It is so nice and easy just to scrape!   After we got the driveway and paths dug out, I put wood ash down on the slickest corner of the driveway.  We keep a couple of cans on the porch to hold the ash from the woodstove.  It isn't as good as sand if you are stuck, but it isn't bad.   And, it is free.

Storm

Big storm going on out there.  I went to check on the sheep and couldn't find the path to the barn.  I gave up shoveling  a route some time ago.  The wind just blows the snow off the field and piles it between the drive way and the barn.  I've been carefully walking along the route, packing down the snow as I go out and back twice a day.  I'm usually fine as long as I don't step off the hard packed part into deep snow.

Well, there was no way to find out where that hard area was with all the blowing and drifting, so I kept sinking, and it took me awhile to get to the barn.  I came back with my long shepherd's crook, and used it to feel ahead and fine the hard packed area.  That helped.

Spent part of the evening in the basement putting up new grow lights and thinking about getting the onion seed going.   It is a little late, but not too bad.     I put together some little wooden boxes for soil.  No one came down to find out what all the hammering was about.  When it is blowing like this, people stay put where they are, in front of the woodstove or under the covers.

We need to get dug out tomorrow morning so I can go to a gardening workshop.  Spring!!