The rains came on October 31. The snow hit on November 4. Since then we've been in the grip of a cold, belligerent winter that alternated between cold, snow, more snow, and damn cold.
It was a shock to our neighbor who moved up from Texas a couple years ago and was able to experience last year's average winter, her first up here. She thought it was a pretty harsh winter.
We didn't want to tell her last winter was a little on the mild side. Turns out we didn't need to mention anything because after 3+ months of this crap, she's now well aware of what a hard winter looks and feels like up here.
Granted, we don't have the types of winter they get east of the mountains, where the temperature drops to below the capability of the thermometer to measure, and the mercury says "Hell with this! We're movin' to Florida!"
But it gets cold. We had at least two Arctic blasts that had us burning firewood nonstop for weeks. My normal two cords of split firewood is looking mighty thin right about now. I'm going to replenish it in the next few days… just in case.
Fortunately, it looks as though the weather is breaking towards warmer temps. The snow has been slowly disappearing, so much so that I can now regularly walk the hills out back with the dogs and only have to deal with about 20% snow and ice covered trails. That's a big improvement and my knee feels much better for it.
I crave sunny days this time of year. Even if the temperature is still cold, the sun makes it feel at least ten degrees warmer.
Below are three photos from 1) about a month ago, 2) two weeks ago and 3) this last Monday.
Hopefully, things are warming up where you are, and winter wasn't too hard on you this year.
We've been buried in snow for three months, most of it much uglier than this.
The last month has been like this. Not exactly pretty, but the snow has been fading away.
Finally we're starting to see some sun as well as ground as the snow melts away.
About the Author
Topdog is Steve Merryman, a retired graphic designer, illustrator, and unrepentant asshole. Steve can usually be found working on a portrait commission or some other artwork. Steve fills his days by painting, writing, shootin' guns, cuttin' trees, hiking with his dogs, and savoring a beer or two, all while searching for the perfect cheeseburger. He studiously avoids social media and is occasionally without pants.
Comments 2
It’s been mild here, too. Oddly, my 4wd works great, except when the temperature is below 30.
*sigh*
Author
I’m fortunate the snow stopped falling when it did. I was running out of room on the road, the berms were closing in on me. Usually I take care of the center and my neighbor widens it to the sides, but he’s been working out of town much of the winter and I didn’t realize it until it was almost too late. The berms melted then froze into concrete and there was no moving them. But now they’re finally melting.