This can be a confusing time of the year. A time when we are not in true winter anymore, but also not yet in true spring. Last week when I was writing, I mentioned how it was snowing pretty good. The perspective from my office chair does give me a view of the outdoors if I look over my right shoulder, but I cannot get an exact idea of how much snow has fallen without getting up and looking an an object that did not have snow on it before the current snow started falling.
Typically that object will be the hood of my truck. I actually use that many times as my official “snow board” for measuring fresh snow. My truck is parked in an area that is fairly protected from the wind, so I do not get drifting to add to the snow or scouring to subtract that which as fallen. So when I finished last week’s entry, I headed to the service door of the shop to head over to the house and I was very much surprised at how much snow had fallen in just the two hours I was writing. On the truck sat a fresh 6″ of snow!
It was a dense snow to boot. Not super wet and heavy, but sticky enough to stick to everything and also dense enough to not be “poofed” away by a vehicle driving through it or blown around too much by the wind. All of the trees were beautifully flocked in the snow. That is one of my favorite things about a good snowfall, is how the trees all become frosted in a thick layer of snow.
Mother nature must have been reading what I was typing in last week’s entry because the moment I stepped out of the shop and into the winter wonderland, the “bitter” part of the snow evaporated and all I had in my heart was how sweet and beautiful the snow was. I guess I may as well come to terms with the fact that I rarely ever think a good dumping of snow is a bad thing!
I was really amazed that in the 2 hour I was writing, we got 6″! Forgive me as I show off my mathematical skills, but that is 3″ per hour. I believe at times it was snowing much harder than that because there were lulls in the snowfall within those two hours as well. Plus, it did not stop once those pictures were taken. It snowed for another 2-3 hours and we picked up another 3″ in that time. I was quite tempted to fire up the sled and take it for a spin on the roads around the neighborhood. The plow had not come and I figured it probably would not until the next day. However, with my poor heart struggling to just keep us afloat, I thought it best not to work it too hard trying to start the sled. My next sled will have electric start for sure!
It was decided to go out for dinner that evening and we chose the Dreamland because it is the closest to us and also because they have good food and a wonderful atmosphere. It was really cool to be driving down the roads in the fresh snow. The truck was almost like a boat going through water and the view out the side view mirrors reminded me of when I was a kid and would be on our boat and watch the water rush away from the boat as it parted it and then pushed it away from the hull. I had actually never seen that happen while driving, so I asked Nora if she would take a quick video of it. Here is that video.
We did have some warmer temps last week, but it did not turn out as warm as expected. Tuesday and Friday were the only days above freezing for highs and while the sun did some damage to the snow, we did not have anything resembling a meltdown. Thus the snow conditions were quite good this week and weekend. The week ahead sees temps to run above freezing for highs through Wednesday, with some rains also possible Wednesday, but the models are mixed as to how much rain will fall and then it looks like it will cool back down to the upper 20’s to around 32 for daytime highs beyond that and there could be some snows that immediately follow the rains and or come next weekend/the early part of next week. So while I cannot promise conditions will support snow play next weekend and beyond, there certainly is a chance.
Other than that, not a lot else going on up here. I am chomping at the bit to have my surgery done and get back to being able to be active. There is still so much to do in my office and in the shop and before I know it, the weather will be nice enough to be out taking bike rides, strolls on the beach and some walks with Nora, Grace and the dogs.
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
