I should be crossing off items on my to do list but so far this morning I'm having trouble getting started.. I get up Ok 5.45am and breakfasts and Lunches etc and the family off to school, walk the dog feed the pets , quick cup of coffee and on with the day. Today I've stalled at quick cup of coffee... it's become cups of coffee and nothing quick about any of them.
We've had more snow recently than the last two years combined (they were rubbish for snow) 43+ inches so far and most of it is outside at the moment. Yesterday I cleared, shoveled and brushed for about 3 hours, digging out paths to the hen and the woodsheds, clearing the snow off the Kayaks (again) clearing the driveway then the vehicles and then the driveway again ..actually it was quite satisfying work..I'm a medium sized snow shovel and lots of journeys kind of snow clearer ..(having learned that large snow shovels may seem quicker but really make you ache more..lol) and still today I think a hot tub would be nice.
So I have read the news and browsed about, hauled the dog out from under the wood stove where he was scorching....I really don't like the smell of singed fur...which is a shame because that's what I can smell now. The daft dog was unaware that he was toasting.
Yesterday the Waxwings made an appearance ..whole flocks swooping and chatting and checking out the many Rowan trees still laden with berries. We still have Nuthatches and a rather scruffy looking woodpecker visiting our bird feeder..I haven't seen the chickadees lately so I hope they are still Ok.
How the birds survive the frigid weather mystifies me. It's been dropping to -14f and below lately and staying in the single digits in the day.
The sidewalks have a narrow pathway cleared by a neighbour who has been kindly taking his snowblower around the block after each heavy fall of snow. The City snow plows push the snow into piles or berms at the edge of the road so walking the dog each morning I walk down a narrow (about 2'6" wide) clear path with straight snow walls about thigh high. The snow is very beautiful and sparkles and reflects the light well. A Moose now wanders the neighborhood....we haven't seen her in a couple of Winters the heavy snow tends to encourage them into town, where they prune the trees in peoples gardens,. Crab apples are a favourite. I've nearly bumped into her twice in the mornings when walking the dog so I now pay attention.. Moose like their space and I'm happy to give it to her. So far she's just eyed the dog and myself up and carried on munching and the dog has been sensibly discreet so all good.
At the moment the snow on the roads is thick and rutted and takes a bit of driving over ..some cars handle it better than others. On Saturday afternoon the police put out a request to stay at home unless your journey was really necessary as so many drivers were getting into accidents 144 I think in town(but only 4 involved injuries), and the main ( and only) highway out of the city to the North (all 6 lanes) was closed for a while. The bigger roads tend to have wide grassed central reservations that gently dip in the middle ...the idea being if you slide off then you end up in the dip not back on the road or over into the opposite lanes. They are on the sides too and catch a lot of cars in Winter. 'Ditch diving' it's sometimes called.
The snow plows clear the main roads and routes first after a Winter storm then declare a plow out and divide the city into small sections and aim to plow all the side streets in three days (if possible) you can check online and see whats going on ...today's map
We are blue So we're due to be plowed out tomorrow ..they let you know so you can try and avoid leaving vehicles on the roadway
During my browsing this morning I researched an author whose book I have enjoyed Robert Westall and find he was very fond of cats. On his web page (or a web page dedicaed to his life and work, as he is no longer alive) there is a poem he wrote called "Wind Cat" that I really enjoyed you can read it here http://www.robertwestall.com/robert_westalls_cats.html
if you are so inclined. There is an article about his work here https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2006/oct/27/rememberingrobertwestall and wiki has a page about him here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Westall
I was introduced to his work by the Radio play "The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral" and sought out the book which did not disappoint. The Story is about Joe Clark steeplejack who unexpectedly gets a job repairing the stonework on a tower of Muncaster Cathedral as Joe says " “There was something funny about the thing, something nobody wanted to talk about. Maybe my dream was a warning that there was something wrong with the tower: some steeplejack’s instinct that I couldn’t plumb. Something in the stone.” It's a good story not a short story but not a full length book perhaps you'd call it a novella? anyway I enjoyed it.
Well I guess I better actually get something done ! or at least try wish me luck!
We've had more snow recently than the last two years combined (they were rubbish for snow) 43+ inches so far and most of it is outside at the moment. Yesterday I cleared, shoveled and brushed for about 3 hours, digging out paths to the hen and the woodsheds, clearing the snow off the Kayaks (again) clearing the driveway then the vehicles and then the driveway again ..actually it was quite satisfying work..I'm a medium sized snow shovel and lots of journeys kind of snow clearer ..(having learned that large snow shovels may seem quicker but really make you ache more..lol) and still today I think a hot tub would be nice.
So I have read the news and browsed about, hauled the dog out from under the wood stove where he was scorching....I really don't like the smell of singed fur...which is a shame because that's what I can smell now. The daft dog was unaware that he was toasting.
Yesterday the Waxwings made an appearance ..whole flocks swooping and chatting and checking out the many Rowan trees still laden with berries. We still have Nuthatches and a rather scruffy looking woodpecker visiting our bird feeder..I haven't seen the chickadees lately so I hope they are still Ok.
How the birds survive the frigid weather mystifies me. It's been dropping to -14f and below lately and staying in the single digits in the day.
The sidewalks have a narrow pathway cleared by a neighbour who has been kindly taking his snowblower around the block after each heavy fall of snow. The City snow plows push the snow into piles or berms at the edge of the road so walking the dog each morning I walk down a narrow (about 2'6" wide) clear path with straight snow walls about thigh high. The snow is very beautiful and sparkles and reflects the light well. A Moose now wanders the neighborhood....we haven't seen her in a couple of Winters the heavy snow tends to encourage them into town, where they prune the trees in peoples gardens,. Crab apples are a favourite. I've nearly bumped into her twice in the mornings when walking the dog so I now pay attention.. Moose like their space and I'm happy to give it to her. So far she's just eyed the dog and myself up and carried on munching and the dog has been sensibly discreet so all good.
At the moment the snow on the roads is thick and rutted and takes a bit of driving over ..some cars handle it better than others. On Saturday afternoon the police put out a request to stay at home unless your journey was really necessary as so many drivers were getting into accidents 144 I think in town(but only 4 involved injuries), and the main ( and only) highway out of the city to the North (all 6 lanes) was closed for a while. The bigger roads tend to have wide grassed central reservations that gently dip in the middle ...the idea being if you slide off then you end up in the dip not back on the road or over into the opposite lanes. They are on the sides too and catch a lot of cars in Winter. 'Ditch diving' it's sometimes called.
The snow plows clear the main roads and routes first after a Winter storm then declare a plow out and divide the city into small sections and aim to plow all the side streets in three days (if possible) you can check online and see whats going on ...today's map
We are blue So we're due to be plowed out tomorrow ..they let you know so you can try and avoid leaving vehicles on the roadway
During my browsing this morning I researched an author whose book I have enjoyed Robert Westall and find he was very fond of cats. On his web page (or a web page dedicaed to his life and work, as he is no longer alive) there is a poem he wrote called "Wind Cat" that I really enjoyed you can read it here http://www.robertwestall.com/robert_westalls_cats.html
if you are so inclined. There is an article about his work here https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2006/oct/27/rememberingrobertwestall and wiki has a page about him here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Westall
I was introduced to his work by the Radio play "The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral" and sought out the book which did not disappoint. The Story is about Joe Clark steeplejack who unexpectedly gets a job repairing the stonework on a tower of Muncaster Cathedral as Joe says " “There was something funny about the thing, something nobody wanted to talk about. Maybe my dream was a warning that there was something wrong with the tower: some steeplejack’s instinct that I couldn’t plumb. Something in the stone.” It's a good story not a short story but not a full length book perhaps you'd call it a novella? anyway I enjoyed it.
Well I guess I better actually get something done ! or at least try wish me luck!
This was just lovely to read. Almost like I was sitting across from you. Those 'reservations' are a great idea. I wonder why they aren't used more in other snowy places. Do they salt your roads? My Labrador never lays (lies) in front of the wood stove. I guess her double coat makes her too warm there.
ReplyDeleteYour Lab is very sensible Nan, Echo and I have been having a competition all day of the 'can I sneak back under when she's not looking' variety.... daft dog. I don't think they salt our roads because it would still freeze when the temp goes down far enough. We can have studded tires (we don't at the moment) which makes for very rutted roads after a while. They do grit when it's icy ..at least hopefully at junctions and lights..and if the ice is bad sometimes they cut grooves in it ..I think the graders must have some sort of toothed blade? At times people wonder why they don't just hot mop the roads and everyone skate lol
DeleteWe have studded snow tires. When I was a kid, there were chains. Do you know this phenomenon - that whenever you say something definitive, the opposite happens?? It happens to me all the time. Lucy for the first time laid next to the wood stove.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous post, Val. Like Nan I felt we were sitting in front of the fire with a cuppa having a conversation about Alaska. I follow Dana Stabenow on FB and she posts frequent pics of Alaska, plus someone on a photo pg also does the same. So, your posts go nicely with those.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed hearing about the birds, never managed to see a waxwing so am very envious. I'm just reading one of Bill Oddie's bird books full of essays about birding so if he mentions how small birds survive very cold winters I'll tell you.
Just ordered that Robert Westall book from AM and reserved another from the library. Stay warm!
I hope you enjoy the Robert Westall book or I shall be in disgrace as a book recommend-er! I must research how the small birds survive ...I have a feeling they have to burn a massive amount of calories ..I have a horrid suspicion that I've looked it up before but having a rubbish memory forgotten what I read ..there is no hope for me! haha
DeleteOh I love this post. How you live with snow. Makes my morning walk in the frost seem very tame. Bullfinches and fieldfares. No deer recently. Had to check what chickadees are. Similar to our willow/marsh tits to look at. Half my family were ready to visit you, there and then when I told them about your garden visitors (not the moose - although I suspect that wouldn't put them off), if you can guarantee a waxwing sighting. They are on our list. Stay warm, but not too warm.
ReplyDeleteJust let them know that the weather forecast is for rain later this week that should put them off ...I ask you rain! The Waxwings only visit for a short while but when they do they are a huge swirling flock they were swooping high overhead yesterday ..I wished I could count how many ..but I couldn't even guess. They are noisy and beautiful and I never seem to have my camera when they land on a tree near us...isn't that just the way. I love bull finches and fieldfares I miss the variety and quantity of birds that live in England and the dawn chorus. We don't have many birds in town and they tend to be quiet. I'm sure the main part of Alaska has huge birding potential ..the catch being they feed on the swarms of mosquitoes that come out in Summer in the interior and those critters I'm less partial to meeting!
DeleteLove this post. I'm a definite Narnia girl (snow + Turkish delight = what's not to like?) though it's been many a year since we had a decent fall here. When I was growing up it seemed that every winter people had to dig paths across the side streets, the snow was so deep. School never closed, though. Hope you're all keeping warm and cosy.
ReplyDeletePS Northern lad, that Robert Westall.
Turkish delight....ooooo... gosh it's ages since I had some..now where can I get some? see what you've started.
DeleteWe've just been re-watching Game of Thrones and Mr Bean ..another memorable Northern Lad!