Worst Winter In Memory

I was shoveling the snow out from the side of the house so I could get under the house and into my workshop if needed. I hear this beep beep and couldn't figure out what it was. It turned out to be the son and grandson of the man who was building down the road from us. They wanted to see what it was like in the winter and were planning to go down the road to check their property. Those are my tracks in the fresh 16" of snow to get close enough to talk to them. I was going to lend them our extra set of snow shoes but couldn't find them. They said they would shovel down the road to their property. The 20  year old got about 5' and gave up. What makes this the worst winter in memory is the fact it has been so cold and the snow hasn't compressed so the 67" we have received year to date is mostly still there. The snow was well over his waist so getting through it was tough and to go 1/4 mile would be almost impossible. It would take me a couple hours to shovel to the tool shed to get them our extra set of snow shoes so they went in search of others and will be back.

 In addition to the cold temperatures and snow we have had very strong wind that redistributes the snow. (see above) Carol had a mole removed from her chest so she was told not to shovel or haul firewood for the next 10 days or she could pull the stitches out. I spent yesterday shoveling to the wood shed, shoveling the back yard out for the dogs, shoveling the walkway and the deck. Today I finished up the back yard, shoveled out the three doors on the side of the house where the snow comes off the roof.  About 4-5 feet of piled up snow. Then shoveled out the tractor so I could plug in the block heater. In a couple hours I'll clear the driveway which is much easier since all I need to do is ride the tractor.

The marker pole in the photo is a 6' pole with almost 2' still above the snow. Usually the snow compresses or forms a crust that we can walk on with snow shoes. Not this winter. About all we will have in the way of photos now will be of the birds, occasional cat or snow.