winter

Saturday was another snowstorm in a nearly record setting winter for us. The recent storm puts nearly every town from Bangor south at around 100 inches for the season.  As I understand it this is the 5^th snowiest winter on record and we still have March and April to go yet. I also saw that Concord NH has set a record for the snowiest winter since they have been keeping track.

After two of weeks of fairly warm weather where it looked like the snow might even disappear.  Winter has returned, in fact we are in the middle of a very snowy stretch of whether.  We had snow on Wednesday Thursday and Friday and it is snowing again this morning.  None of these events have put down big accumulations but we seem to get five or six inches almost every time. The last couple of storms have been light and fluffy snow with little wind so everything is covered.

We are in what is usually the coldest part of our winter and it just what we expect. This morning the temperature was a little below zero Fahrenheit without a cloud in the sky. Luckily the strong wind that was forecast has not shown up. Yes we have a breeze but not the serious wind that can make a cold day miserable. The moon is full tomorrow night which gives the spectacular nights lit by the glow of the moon reflected on the snow. It is nearly as bright as day but the light has a different quality.

Freezing rain, snow and sleet this morning but it is forecast to be all rain by afternoon. The wind is out of the southeast at fifteen or so, a cold and damp uncomfortable day by any measure. A great day to be working inside luckily I am in the office most of the day working on a few projects. The bird feeder is full and attracting a crowd of chickadees filling up before the storm really gets going.

Yesterday Argy and I drove to Bar Harbor and spent the day skiing with our son in Acadia National Park. After the cold and clear week we enjoyed a warm and cloudy day. Many people were out on the trails skiing and snowshoeing. In the distance we could hear snowmobilers enjoying the day as well. We skied for about four hours and had a great time. On that heavily used trail there were surprising signs of wildlife. We saw fox and coyote tracks, squirrel tracks and two places where mink had crossed the trail.

December was a very snowy month here and January seems to be following the same theme. Without going through each storm of the last couple of weeks there is nearly three feet of snow on the ground this morning. Most of it is soft and fluffy not able to hold up even my widest snowshoes. I snow shoed for a while yesterday and sank down at least a foot even with the snowshoes on but it was great to be out. Only Woody the golden retriever tagged along but even he tired quickly in the deep snow. Interestingly he sank up to his chest even in my tracks.

The weather has given us a break for a few days. We had warm rain and fog a couple of days before Christmas that shrunk the snow back. I had been thinking about shoveling the roof and even chipping away at the ice dams on the eves but after only one night of warmth it was all gone. A lot of effort saved!

Our stretch of winter continues. This morning it is snowing pretty hard with a temperature of 6 and a stiff northeast wind. The forecast calls for it to change to sleet and possibly even freezing rain tonight before it ends.  A morning inside with a second pot of coffeee and a fire in the fireplace. We are scheduled to attend the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Christmas performance this afternoon. They may cancel the event but if not we may be making the trek in the snow!

One characteristic of being someone who is outside a great deal is that you are always watching the sky. I am usually looking for clues to the weather in the next couple of hours, but in the winter when it is dark more of the day and the night sky the brightest I like to look at the stars. Not as any kind of an expert but I have a few constellations that I can find readily and watch as they trace their way across the night sky.

Snowing here again this morning, not real hard but we already have a couple of inches. The forecast was for less than an inch all day. This is an excellent addition to the holiday scenery.
 
Click here to see that not only can old guides dance they look pretty good in a green elf suit.