Well, since the last post, fall went into winter, and here we are now in February 2022.
This winter has been unlike the previous three winters in this pacific northwest region.
We've actually HAD a winter for a change! Not a lot of snow, as in the 'olden days' but almost two feet of snow overall at our 2,300-foot elevation, and cold enough that the snow/ice is still around almost a month later.
With the snow and ice, getting around can be a challenge!!
Above: A MUST have item for here in the North, are things like these "YaxTraxs" I'm wearing to be able to walk on the solid ice, like our driveway below. Snow is usually traction, ice is NOT!! We've been using them for years now and they are well worth the money to keep from being really hurt from slipping on ice.
The week or so from Christmas into the new year, it became very cold, like it used to, with a few mornings of below zero temps with highs into the teens.
The night of the 6th of January, we got over a foot of snow at our house, and some areas in the region received almost 3-feet of snow! The above photo of a nearby property taken Sunday the 9th shows the new snow, with deer tracks, from the Thursday before on a very rare sunny afternoon!
Since then there have been some snow evenings but the bulk was the big push of overnight the 6th.
While it is still enough winter there could be snow, I am personally doubtful any snowpocalypse could happen again as it did in February 2017 when we got over 3-feet of snow overnight on February 5th to 6th, but there could be more snow for sure.
Below, are a few photos from the event,
Above: The surprise when we woke up that Monday morning!
Below: A couple of days later and Stacy gives perspective to the piling up snow out by the driveway. Stacy is about 6 feet tall like me!
Above: we were very concerned we could have a roof failure due to the thousands of pounds of snow on the roofs on our property. While roof collapses happened at many places in our area, we were very lucky to NOT have that happen!
Above: The one and only car dealer in town had their 'stock' buried for several days afterward.
I know I have talked before about the more usual than not weather condition of snow then a day or so later, rain. It hasn't happened so much this winter though.
That's what did happen in the Snow of January 5th when our area got about 5-inches more snow overnight, and I kept thinking I would be able to get to cleaning the snow up over the weekend. Nope!
Thursday the 6th, by the afternoon, it warmed into the upper 30s and all the snow became rain.
Friday the 7th I decided to stay home and clean the snow up as the wet top layers, about 3-inches thick were making getting around the property, as well and into and out of, the property, somewhat difficult even with all-wheel drive. Plus, the county snowplows came through making a large berm into our driveway and buried the mailbox to where we didn't get any mail for about three days since the carrier couldn't get close enough to the box to leave the mail and they will not get out of their vehicles!
Above: thanks to the county plow trucks, a deep berm at our driveway, and the buried mailbox across the street.
That nice powdery snow was by now all weighted down with rain and was very slushy and very heavy. The snow thrower had a lot of problems trying to move it.
I wound up having to use a snow shovel to manually move the top layers to get the lower, still snow, levels moved by machine.
In the lower photo above, it took me over 3-hours! to get to this point in our long driveway. I have just moved all the top wet layers with the shovel and was getting ready to get the last 40 or so feet finished. It took a couple of more hours between clearing access to the house and mailbox. I WAS BEAT!
Above: cleared access so we could get mail again, until the next big snow anyway.
And get our Amazon packages delivered too.
And now we're into February, the 10th today, and no new snow, or rain, for the last few weeks. While generally still cold the last week has become "warm" during the days. Today is supposed to be the warmest day and into Springlike with a high in the low 50s when temps used to be still in the mid-30s!
Most of the roads are clear of ice and as on our property, the snow is mostly gone and is primarily ice that's slowly melting and evaporating during the days and refreezing during the nights as those temps have been staying in the upper 20s and low 30s ( -2.2 to 0.55 C)
The 'worst' of winter, I think, is done. It is looking as it will be a long dry spring, similar to last year which lead to the record-breaking drought and heat of summer for our Pacific Northwest region.
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