Winter Blues - Part 2 (or I hate snow)

After posting Winter Blues - Part 1, I thought it would be good to post what I think of snow now.

Ya, it's pretty now...

More snow, this is getting deep and I'm starting to have problems moving the snow. My back is starting to ache.

The Hydrangeas are slowly disappearing

The cold has frozen a 6" ridge of sharp, frozen ice at the end of the driveway left courtesy of the plow driver. Of course, after I finished shoveling. I think they wait for everyone to finish clearing before they go by. And unclear.

Drifts everywhere

When I walk through the snow it gets into my boots and thaws around my feet. Ya, that's such a great feeling. I curse.

The snow was falling so fast it looked like tracers from the clouds.

It's like it will never stop. Storm after storm.

More Practice than I needed

The snow blower throws the snow to the wind.The wind then catches and blows it all back in my face making me think this must be what the North Pole is like.

The Garden Angel has become a Snow Angel

It's so freaking deep now I can't see anything in the yard. I wonder if the deck will collapse from all of that "pretty" snow.

Another night, Another Snow storm

The newspaper is no longer skittering across the snow. It burrows under the new snow, completely disappearing in the driveway. I find it later with the snow blower which shreds it and blows fresh confetti everywhere.

A "Small" Snowdrift on the Deck.

The snow mounds along the drive way are now shoulder high forcing me to lift the snow over my head to add to the ever growing pile. My shovel is breaking. So is my back

Heavy Slush

We have a temporary thaw. Moving the slush around is like shoveling cold oatmeal. And its three times as heavy.

More Drifts

We now have no where left for the snow drifts to go during each storm. So they build new ones on the porches. Everytime it snows.

I had to get this Shot of the Icicles on my Neighbor's House.

We call them "Widow Makers"

My gutters are frozen solid with shear walls of ice sitting 6 inches higher than the gutter. Icicles look nice on Christmas cards. Not roofs. Companies are charging around $80 per worker to clear roofs. You'll usually see about 5 of them on a roof. And it takes hours to clear.

It Looks Nice. Until the Sun Comes up

The roads are dirty. My car is a mess. My garage floor is covered with chunks of dirty, icy water.

You can see the Driveway Markers on the Side of the Driveway.

Then they disappeared.

The plow driver comes in the middle of the night doing his job. Leaving work for me.

The Falling Snow even Blots Out the Streetlight

Everything disappears underneath piles and piles of the white stuff.

Some folks have heated walkways to melt the snow. Not us.

We have no where left to put it.

Yay! This is Fun. No it's not...

I've had to do this so many times that I don't know which 

storm this was.

My neighbor doesn't mind that I blow the snow towards their driveway. I clear their's too.

Our Neighbors Over the Border

Seems like the only fun to be had is by the creative folks on the Internet.

Even the Game Shows are Getting in on it.

Funny. Who thinks of these things?

What the Day Brings

It wouldn't be so bad if it would melt. But it's been too cold.So it just sits there waiting for the next storm to pile on more.

Wishing for spring

The Hydrangeas have all but disappeared.It so cold the snow on the roof isn't even melting.

Look! Even the Weatherman Looks Unhappy.

We're at the bottom of the 6". Um, that's 6" of more snow.

On Saturday night, the local weather was saying that we we're going to get another 3" - 6". It's now snowing and I know I'll be shoveling it all before I go to work.

But Wait! There's more!

Tomorrow morning there will be 6" of new snow. And now they are saying there will be another storm on Tuesday! That's it. I'm done. I've had enough.

I hate snow. And the cold. I hate that too.

Enjoy your week. I'll probably be shoveling. Or maybe I'll build a snowman. Or an igloo.

Winter Blues - Part 1

Our first snow.

I love snow.

Seeing that we've managed to get this winter's snow all at once, I thought I'd write about it. In two parts.

It's early in the morning and looking outside I see that it's snowing. Again. With half dollar sized flakes, gently coming down. Watching it fall makes me reflect on the snow that we've received over the past month.

A light dusting.

The cold early morning air hits your lungs andmakes you feel alive.

Early morning snow.

The falling snow takes away all the noise making everything peaceful. It seems like you can actually hear the snow land on the ground.

You can still see the blades of grass.

The sound of snow crunching under foot where you never heard anything before.

Coated trees give them the look of a black & white picture.

The first snow falling coats everything with a covering of white changing the way everything appears. It looks like white brush strokes from an artist.

The Snow makes the House Glow.

The early morning newspaper leaves tracks as it skitters across the snow.

Cleaned Walkways leave a Pattern in the Bluestone.

I enjoy shoveling snow. It gets me outside and the exercise of moving snow feels great.

The Garden Angel is Surrounded.

A little more snow. This is great. Everything looks so fresh. I'm enjoying this.

A Pic from my Sister in Atlanta. They're having a "Blizzard"

They have a lot of catching up to do.

So there you go. A little snow. A little exercise. It's all good. That is until the snow didn't stop.

Next time - Winter Blues - Part 2 (or I hate snow)

I’m Beginning to Really Dislike Snow

 Rescued Trash & Recycing Bins

This is So Much Fun to Shovel

Iced Upped Stairs and Downspouts

After the Super Bowl Blow out we had a big storm on Wednesday. Now in Rhode Island they have this thing when it looks like it’s going to snow. Everyone runs to the store to stock up on bread and milk. You would think the entire population exists on bread and milk. And nothing else. Now the panic sets in even days earlier. After everyone up here watched last week’s ice run in Atlanta, they’re running out buying it days before the storm.

So the storm that hit us started with snow, then sleet, then rain and then snow and then hail. It sucked to put it mildly. When storms like this come you have to get outside and remove the snow before it turns to a huge block of ice. I almost made it. The snow I was moving was like a big heavy ice sponge. And then a few hours later it was an inch of frozen sleet which the snow blower just won’t work on. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was shoveling with the hail pinging off of your face.

There’s a little game we play up here with the snow plow drivers. We try to time removing the snow from the driveway after the plow drivers come by and leave a two foot high wall of ice at the end of the driveway. I swear they sit down the end of the street waiting. And once all the driveways are done they come by like the mailman in that Chevy Chase movie laughing maniacally while burying the end of your driveway in more stuff to shovel.

This week there was a bonus event. It was trash day. So the plows had to dodge around the trash cans and not “hit” them. Instead they’d take them out with the five foot high wall of slush leaving them in disarray up and down the street knocked over and buried in the snow banks.

And to think on Super Bowl Sunday it felt like spring was just around the corner…

On the house front, things are starting to come out of hibernation. The kitchen counters were measured for the countertops. Yay! I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend.