01.28.2026. It really snowed a lot!

 It snowed for over 15 hours on Sunday and let us with 18 inches of snow to shovel. And then it snowed again on Monday, and we ended up with 4 more inches! There is now no place to move the snow in preparation for the next storm. It had been snowing much lesser amount over the previous week, so I have been out there multiple times preparing for the big storm. We did have a week's notice. I had to shovel all of previous snows wide and far to make room for this recent delivery. We were lucky - it was light and fluffy and caused us no problems. We had power the entire time. That means we had heat and water! A very big deal as it was still in the single digits temperatures. Now 2 degrees in the morning seems like the new normal!

As per our routine, Gunnarr goes out at night before bedtime. So Sunday night I bundled him up in his wool coat and let him out on the porch. He looked at the deep snow and wanted to come back inside the house. Since we would only be repeating this scenario after midnight, I bundled up myself and shoveled  him a path. Yes, the snow was taller than he is tall.

The next morning was no different. Neither Gunnarr nor Shorty were too excited about venturing in the snow. I was a bit surprised as we usually depend on Shorty to make a path. So now I had to shovel paths for them and begin clearing paths around the car and a path to the oil tank. And I had to shovel the upper part of the driveway and a bit of the driveway outside of the gate. So I did not take many pictures as I had no time or energy to clear a path to the main yard. 

The car was the major challenge, and I cleared it a little at a time. Fortunately, I did not have to go to the office on Monday. 

Not sure where to put all of the snow. After a while the snowbanks are so tall I cannot reach over them!

Birdbath. 

Even after clearing a nice path for all of us, they are not too eager to jump off the porch. But as I cleared more of the driveway and kitchen porch, they are moving about a bit more freely. If you noticed in this picture, the car is moved to outside the gate. It was easier to clean it off there as I have more room for the snow. Twenty inches on the car is a bit of a challenge!

Even though it is too high for them to play, Shorty likes to stick his nose into the snowbanks.

As an aside, while I am typing, all of the pictures in my study started shaking on the wall. I think we might have had a small earthquake. Will need to check on that. It lasted only a few noticeable seconds, so I don't think the house is having an issue like settling. And the roof is still intact!

Gunnarr is wearing my favorite coat for him. He is standing in the spot where the car was.

I finally shoved a path from the kitchen door and porch to the driveway. As you can see, the paths are only the width of a shovel. No sense overdoing it I guess. We are supposed to receive more snow on Sunday again, and if the snowbanks are too tall, I will never be able to clear a path of any size.  And I am sticking with that rationale for not clearing a wider path!

Shorty is peering at me from behind the snowbank. I'll try on another day to get them through their gate to play in the yard. I don't keep them out too long as it was just 2 degrees when I was out there with them. It will get warmer and we will have more chances to run in the snow.

What is the reward for being good outside in the bitter cold? Treats! Gunnarr and Shorty are enjoying their
treat in their own special places.

After a treat, it is nap time!

It is still not the same without Fionnegan. I noticed that Shorty does not chase Gunnarr, probably because he is getting older and probably because it was Fionn he chased since he was smaller.

                                            

Hope you all are safe and warm during this snowstorm. Now I need to check to see if the shaking of the house indeed was a small earthquake.

Until next time.........................

01.30.19 Beautiful snowfall

We awoke this morning to a beautiful light and fluffy snowfall. We had several inches of powdery snow that was a lot of fun for the boys to run and play. It was also easy to shovel and I managed to do the entire long driveway, 2 decks and a sidewalk in the early  morning hours. Later the sky was a beautiful blue without a cloud. As it is now close to February I will admit that February is a favorite month of mine - the days are getting appreciably longer and the skies are so blue that it makes it easy to forget that it is really cold outside! And true to form, one can have a lot of peace and quiet while shoveling. I have no idea what is happening with the plow truck. He did not arrive until the entire drive was shoveled (by me!) and I left for work. All that was left to do was plow in front of the mailboxes, which I decided not to do as it was really heavy from the trucks plowing the snow from the road. Oh well. I can always use the exercise!

On an earlier blog I mentioned I heard a loud cracking noise that I thought sounded as if a pipe burst or a tree fell near the house. Well well well. On Sunday as I was cleaning up a bit more near the house, the ice dam melted away from an outdoor pipe - it had burst during the first bitter cold snap. The noise we heard was indeed a bursting pipe. Now that it had warmed up a bit, the ice melted away from the pipe and it was dripping. The shut off valve was involved in the cracked so I opened it to relieve the pressure and was greeted with a nice cold shower. The plumber was out yesterday morning to replace the pipes and check on other shut off valves. All we have to do is get through another bitter freeze tonight!

Beautiful blue winter skies with snow on the ground. Sometimes I don't think it gets much nicer than this. This is my back yard. This is when 20 degrees F feels warm.

Here is the cracked pipe - a relatively thick connector that had been there for 25 years without a problem during a bitter cold snap! Since it had been cold again these past two days, what water was left in the pipe froze and there were no more leaks.

Here are my three helpers with their individual interpretation of the commands Sit and Stay. Since we also had water in the basement from the recent thaw I did not want wet and dirty paws tracking up the house. Interesting enough, none of them came down the stairs after me. Good boys!



Fionnegan and Gunnarr are ready for any winter weather. They love running in the snow, chasing squirrels, or as I like to say, protecting the bird feeders for the birds.



Shorty, my Yapese dog, really enjoys the cold wintry weather. I have to coax him back into the house. He really seems to enjoy rolling in the snow and he makes the tracks for the other two.




We just came back from a walk, hence he is wearing his harness. Look at his snow covered nose!



At the end of a busy day a nice nap is in order in the kitchen.

As we are experiencing another Arctic freeze, we will need to make sure we have water and can locate the flashlights. And we need to check on the heat and keep the taps open a bit to keep them from freezing during the night. We also need to make sure the line from the oil tank to the house does not freeze so I always like to double check that the warmer is still working.  A few chores to do before we call it a night. Please stay warm and bundle up and stay safe. 

Until next time...….

01.20.19 Snow, ice and a deep freeze on the way

It was bound to happen - a sizeable winter storm. We had over six inches here - not too bad for shoveling, but now the precipitation has turned to freezing rain. Went out to shovel the walkway and porches and clear off the car but decided to leave the drive for the plow truck. My hat was soaked by the time I finished. The boys stayed nice and warm inside. I could not let them out in the front with me as the gates are open for the plow trick. However, he has not yet arrived and I could have had the driveway cleared by now. I am hoping he gets here before it turns into thick ice. Perhaps another call might help!

This year only Shorty was interested in running around outside and he seemed happy to come in when I called t hem. Maybe they just don't like being pelleted by freezing ice. And they only wanted out one more time to chase the squirrels. Now they are all curled up and appear quite content. I put sweaters on them as it is cool inside the house as well as cold outside. Maybe Fionnegan and Gunnarr will be more interested in the snow later. But tomorrow the weather is going to turn brutally cold, so they will only be outside to "empty out". We can spend the day doing inside chores, never a shortage of housework to do!

The bird feeders are full and the blue jays, chickadees, juncos and downy woodpeckers are enjoying the sunflower seeds and suet. I sprinkled some seeds on the ground for the juncos and the squirrels - they all need some fuel to keep warm. Have not seen a cardinal for a while, they must have migrated to a warmer climate. The juncos are also sleeping in the little Christmas tree I took outside. They nestled in the branches and fly out when I open the door to let  the dogs outside. Despite three dogs, the birds and squirrels stay close to the house. They all must know they can escape these three yappers.

Here is a little chickadee at the feeder. He was just flying back and forth as if it were a beautiful Spring day. I didn't brush the snow from the feeder as he seemed to be dong quite well.

I shook the snow from the hemlocks as they branches were already buried in the snow. I'll go back and do it again so the ice does not form and break the branches. Last year we had a lot of damage to the trees so I am going to try to stay on top of things a little better - especially since it is daytime.

Here is little Fionnegan. As soon as I opened the door he ran inside where it is nice and warm. Perhaps chasing squirrels can wait until warmer weather!

Even Gunnarr, who is mostly attached to me wherever I go, was eager to get inside even though I was going back and forth to the feeders and trees. He generally follows me everywhere. But not today.

Shorty was having a good time, He was running back and forth and burrowing his nose in the snow. But when the door opened to the house, he ran inside with Fionnegan and Gunnarr. So I finished the chores by myself!

They do look cute in their puffer vests and sweaters.

But now they are sound asleep on their beds wearing a nice warm sweater. You would have thought they shoveled the porches for me! Shorty likes the more open locations to nap and is in the doorway. He does not like to be confined. 

This one is Fionn.

And here is Gunnarr.

Maybe they are resting because they know there is a big New England Patriot football game later tonight, so they are resting now because they will be watching the game!

Here is Shorty reaching up to give Fionn a nose bump!

Need to go check on the plough guy, just in case I need to bundle up and get out there and shovel the driveway.

Hope you all are safe and warm and managing the storm if you are in New England.

Until next time, stay well.

02.06.16 Snow

It was a beautiful snow fall - big fluffy flakes falling fast. A bit heavy and a challenge to shovel, it made for a beautiful and peaceful scene. By the time I came home from work, we had 8 inches and it was still falling hard. A tree branch broke and came crashing down in my driveway - scaring the neighbor and most likely scaring my dogs, too. She came running over as she thought maybe I was in the car, but fortunately both the car and me were gone very early in the morning. However, the tree had one mode chance and another branch fell, this time striking the driver's side of the car but only breaking the mirror attachment to the car. Tree 1: Car 1. But I did have to saw the branches and carry them over the hill. Most of them anyway, some were so heavy that I could barely drag them 100 feet. Once the heavy snow melts from the boughs, or if I cut the branches into smaller pieces, I'll dispose of them properly.

I do love the snow. Just after a storm it is so peaceful and quiet - the only sound I usually hear is the shovel against the pavement. Then the next day the skies are a bright and beautiful blue and it feels warm and is just lovely.

My pups Fionnegan and Gunnarr had a great time  in the heavy snow, although while I was brushing the snow from the branches of the hemlock trees and shrubs they were running and playing and jumping in the deep snow. The bent branches served as tunnels for them to run and hide. When we were all done, they looked like snow dogs - caked in big chunks of snow. So out comes all of the towels again and the hair dryer and we dried off in the kitchen with bowls of warm water and a cup of tea! And a treat, of course!

Here are a few pictures of my snow dogs and trees.

We cannot forget the birds and the feeders. As soon as food was placed inside and sprinkled on the snow a cardinal and junko appeared. It is also a beautiful to watch the birds at the feeder and they perch on the branched on the shrubs next to the house. We have a flock of mourning doves that stay by the feeder just to the side - we always seem to wake them up in the morning! Beautiful birds.

This is the tree from which the branch fell and hit the driveway. Fortunately the car was not there, this time. The second branch that fell did hit the car with minimal damage.

Fionnegan.

Gunnarr.

Gunnarr (left) and Fionnegan (right). They are a challenge to tell apart. Usually when I see one quickly, I just ask "Where is your brother?".

Hide and seek under the willow shrub.

And the news said that we will be getting more snow the beginning of the week! Good thing I shoveled the porches and driveway. Getting ready for the next storm.