Our updates for all of you

Just a month ago it was Christmas, snowing almost every day, and dark by 4 pm. There's still snow and ice all over, still cold, it's been below 32 for about two weeks in the daytime. But no new snow and now its light until almost 5 pm. Until the last few days it was clear. So like I'd said in the last post, no cabin fever yet, but I'm ready for spring. I want the snow berm piled behind the Solstice to be gone. I'm looking at old trip photos and wanting to be traveling again! I'm looking forward to riding the motorcycle again and Stacy and I are planning a weekend to a hot springs in Canada that's we've heard about and she'd like to visit. So, the above paragraph was written on January 23rd. I haven't had a chance to update again until today, busy, busy! I left the above in because I'm still feeling that way! I had told daughter Sandy the other day that I'm looking forward to some spring like weather because I'm getting a bit tired ...

Waiting out winter, yup, that's what we've been doing these last few weeks. No new snow, in fact quite a lot of the winters snow has and is, evaporating away. Still cold and icy, the last couple of weeks haven't been higher than 32 with teens and twenty's at night. We did have some damage from the quick melt and refreeze that happened around New Years. The second chimney for the wood stove in the TV room below our bedroom was knocked loose by the sliding mass. I did all I could from the inside, but the metal ring that helps keep water off the seal was pushed down by the snow to where its keeping the stack tilted. Big problem? It's about 30 feet up so the only access is from above and off the steep metal roof. With the cold temps there has been a constant layer of frost on the entire roof making it impossible to be up there and fix it. So when the temps climb beyond freezing I'll be fixing it. And this spring, an ice dam will get installed so that shouldn't h...

Ice Sickles, the longest in the shot is over 6 feet long Snow in the forest Saturday January 3rd, 2009 Looking out the driveway across to the neighbors property and the mountains North East. Snow, snow, everywhere, with 10 more inches expected by tomorrow morning!!!!