And So It Begins...

Woke up to 26 degrees this morning and a dusting of white on the ground. Didn't amount to much, perhaps a 1/4 of an inch, but it IS a harbinger of things to come.

Snow capped Sumac and Goldenrod

Oak leaves with a dusting of snow

Oak, ash, maple and poplar leaves with snow

Deck is coated, too

With so many trees still hanging on to their leaves, it's a good thing there wasn't more snow.

Snow + Leaves = Power outages.

Still, it does look pretty when the edges of the colored leaves stick out from beneath the central coating of snow.

This should all disappear sometime today as the forecast is fro 50+ degrees and plenty of sunshine.

Easter 2015

Wishing all friends and family a very Happy Easter.

Terry and I are celebrating on our own here at the Aerie. (Well, alone except for the four cats.) Terry prepared a nice ham yesterday and a leg of lamb today. We'll be eating leftovers all week! She also baked a three layer cake--from scratch!--and iced it with vanilla icing and sprinkled it with coconut. With the babka she/we made the other day we've had some good eatin'!

The weather that had been so nice the end of the week to a turn to the north again and we've had clouds, sun and finally snow today. It should end before 4 PM but we've already got--at 1:15 PM--almost an inch of snow on the ground. That would be the same ground that a half dozen Robins were hopping about on as they searched for insect/worms at 9:30 AM.

The yard to the southwest of the house.

The woods to the south of the house.

View to the west.

Common Redpoll says, "I knew it! THIS is why we didn't head north!"

Dark-eyed Junco (aka Snow Bird) lives up to its name.

The good news is that the major league baseball season gets underway tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs...in Chicago...at night...in early April. At least, this time, the weather will cooperate as it's supposed to be in the 50s and clear in Chicago.

We got snow!

Not when it was forecast to occur, but it arrived.

Surprise!

The forecasters had been predicting 8 to 10 inches of snow fro Tuesday. That didn't happen. Wednesday we saw just a few flurries amounting to less than half an inch. Then Wednesday night we were surprised with 6 to 8 inches of powder. It stopped falling around 8:30 and I was outside clearing the driveway a little after 9 AM.

 Vehicles and driveway were covered with 6-8 inches of snow.

 The tray feeder was covered, too.

The deck was covered also.

Terry cleaned off the deck while I tried to figure out if I wanted to use the tractor or the snow thrower. If it had been a inch or two deeper the tractor would have been the only option. I finally figured I could use the exercise so I fired up the snow thrower and took a long, slow walk back and forth, back and forth. It certainly wasn't an aerobic/cardio workout, but it was a workout just the same. Being light, powdery snow meant I could throw it onto an area I would later have to clear and the blower would handle it. (Something it wouldn't do if this had been a we snow.)

I got almost all of the drive cleared when Terry came out to clear off the Jeep and go down for the mail. While she was gone, I cleared the area where the Jeep parks then moved the truck and cleared that area witht he snow thrower. Then it was time for lunch. Terry made a great mac and cheese with ham and peas that warmed and satisfied.

After lunch, we both went back out with shovels to clear the snow that remained. To keep from throwing stones as well as snow, I had the runners set to their maximum height. That left 3/4 to 1 inch of snow on the driveway. To keep it from becoming even icier, that snow had to go. Together, it took us about an hour to clear the parking area and driveway.

While the temperature never got above 24 degrees, it wasn't bad working outside as there we had no wind.

And So IT Begins.

We got our second snowfall of the year on Thursday night. Like the first, it didn't amount to much. I guess it was just a half inch or so. Unlike the first--which melted the next day--overcast clouds and small flurries have allowed this one to stay around. Add the fact that the temperatures were down to 17 degrees this morning and not likely to get above the freezing mark today, plus the snow showers predicted for Sunday evening into Monday and we're probably going to have some white for a long time to come. Go down the hill a few hundred feet and the snow disappears.

Interesting Week

And, yes, "May you live in interesting times," is a curse.

*sigh*

Went to the Post Office Friday morning to get the mail. As I got in the Tundra and turned the key, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Check engine, ABS, 4HI/4LO, Brake...all were lit up and/or flashing. Still, the truck turned over and rolled freely (no brakes or 4-wheel drive).

As I drove down to get the mail, I noticed the odometer wasn't working and neither was the speedometer or the computer that calculated the mpg and range.

Called the mechanic and took the Tundra to get looked at. The ABS Actuator (the computer brain that runs just about everything) needs to be replaced...next Thursday. This is a $2K headache I didn't really need.

I carefully made sure the gas tank was full and discovered the gas gauge DOES work. Thank goodness!

Still, I'll be parking the Tundra in the driveway until next Thursday morning.

******

The latest winter storm may turn out to be a bit of a dud as far as we're concerned. As the storm approaches and the forecasters fine tune the track of the storm, it seems to be shifting to the south. We've gone from the "foot or more" area to the "3-6 inches" and now to the "1 inch" zone. I'll take it! AccuHunch will become my new Bestest Friend--for now--if this holds true.

Those in the central and southern portions of the state remain in the "oh my God" zones, however. 

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It's been wicked cold here...again. We've seen a couple of mornings this week where it got below minus 5 degrees. But, aside from a few snow squalls that briefly produced white-out conditions, we've been relatively snow free. I don't believe we've seen so many sub-zero readings since we moved here in the winter of '06. And we're not done yet. Forecasters are saying we'll get another blast of super cold air once this storm moves off to the east. I saw a minus 10 prediction for Wednesday.

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The Iditarod ("The Last Great Race!") kicks off this weekend with the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage scheduled for Saturday and the official start out of Willow on Sunday. The route has been plagued by comparatively warm temps and low snow fall all winter. Wish we could send them some of ours!

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They finally closed on the sale of Mom's house in NJ. The money, however, will be held in escrow until the state signs off on the remediation of tiny oil leak that was discovered when the empty oil tank was removed from the front yard. That could take months to years according to the realtor. Even though there was an inspection done on site as the work from a licensed contractor scooped out the little soil that was contaminated (tests showed that nothing got into the ground water), the paper work must make its way through the halls of bureaucracy.

The closing almost got cancelled as the buyers and their attorney, kept bringing up niggling little items at the last minute. As first time buyers, they kept expecting a 60+ year-old house to be perfect. If either Terry or I were there, the sale probably would have been cancelled, but the estate's attorney has a little more patience than we do. Even so, even he is reported to have stood up at one point and said he was going to put the house back on the market.

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On a positive note, yesterday was the first day of official spring training baseball games. Between now and Opening Day there will be stories of prospects and veterans who look good/poor; injuries; hopes; and dreams. Few will write about the teams that "haven't got a chance in Hell" of making the playoffs and few fans will admit that their team is out of the running. Hope springs eternal.

On Second Thought....

There's a reason I put a question mark at the end of the title of the last post.  (Time To Hit the Road?)

I ran some numbers regarding the cost of fuel, food and lodging on a proposed Grand Tour and have decided that it's a wee bit too costly to make such a trip at this time. Especially since my better half has expressed an interest in doing at least the last half (Texas, the Gulf Coast, Florida and South Carolina) as well. Maybe it's my Scot's heritage that makes me quail at the expense. (The Irish and Dutch portions say. "Go for it!")

We may still make a run south to Florida and South Carolina sometime in March. And maybe a quick trip to Milwaukee and Chicago. But the larger tour may have to wait until the RV is able to get on the road. It may be slower (450 miles per day as opposed to 800) and eat up more fuel than the Tundra (10 mpg vs. 16-18), but campgrounds are less costly than motels and cooking your own meals is  cheaper than eating out every meal.

I'll also get in a short trip or two to the Adirondacks to check on the Bolt Hole before the Big Thaw comes around.

We will get a Big Thaw, won't we? When it comes I hope it's a slow thaw. With all the snow on the ground around here, there's going to be one heck of a runoff problem if it happens too quickly. With most of the rivers iced up, ice dams could produce a huge headache.

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Terry and I spent a couple of hours shoveling the driveway today after Mother Nature dropped another 2+ inches on us. On top of the 8 inches we got on Thursday, I'm rapidly running out of room to put the snow. Luckily much of it goes over the edge of the slope on the north side of the driveway, but there's still a tremendous amount on the west side of the parking area in front of the garage and at the end of the driveway where there really isn't any place to put it. If it goes down the slope, it ends up in the road and the plow just puts it back in the driveway. Where we shovel it off the deck, we've got a ridge that's almost four feet high!

We've now got close to two feet on the level surfaces and mounds on the verge of the parking area and at the end of the driveway that easily measure five feet. And that's after the thaw at the end of December melted our first foot of snow. Sochi should have so much snow!

Forecasts say we'll have a couple of cold days before we get up above freezing. Then it will be above freezing during the day and in the 20s at night right through the end of March. The guys working sugar bushes will be please by that. Maple sugaring could have a boom year.

Aerie Report: Week...Whatever

Sheesh, almost two weeks since I last posted anything here. Call me a slacker and I won't deny it.

Terry came back from visiting in South Carolina and we had our closing on the four acres. We are now owners of 21 contiguous acres on the mountain. The new lot is the flatest of all and should provide a suitable place to park the RV once the previous owner removes his truck camper when things thaw.

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We traveled into NJ to clear out the last of the things we wanted from Mom's house. Pictures on the wall, towels, bedding, a few pieces of furniture, TV and VCR, etc. Some of it went to the second hand shop, some went into clothing/cloth bins, and some we kept.

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Terry wasn't home more than a few days when we got the call that her cousin passed away, so Terry headed south once more for the funeral. She swung though NJ on her way home to sign over power of attorney to her lawyer so she wouldn't have to rush to NJ again for any closing that may happen...sometime...hopefully soon. The hangup is the report on the extend of soil contamination from the old oil tank. That should be finished today or tomorrow. The purchaser's attorney is concerned that their won't be enough money set aside for the clean-up. Terry has told him that ALL of the purchase price will be in escrow until it's cleaned up but he's still not buying it.

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While Terry was gone, I went to see the doctor about my frost bitten fingers. Three of the four are almost back to normal. At the time, the middle finger, the one that had all the huge honking blisters, the mummified and dry gangrenous diagnosis still had some thick dead skin over most of the final joint and a very black fingernail. Some of the thick stuff had already peeled off and the doctor said that if the rest wanted to come off I should let it go. Well, in the next two days, the rest did come off and I was pleasantly surprised to see how pink the underlying skin was. And I could feel things with the very tip! I may not lose anything except the fingernail after all.

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I also had to go to get the Tundra serviced. The dashboard light saying it was due for maintenance came on. No surprise since the odometer indicated it was time for an oil change. But, at 100K + there were other things that needed to be done, too. That $30 oil change ended up costing over $500 but the beast needed and deserved the TLC. (I still won't take it to the car wash, though. With any thaw we'll be in yet another Mud Season.)

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Also, while Terry was gone, we got a beaut of a snowstorm. Overnight we had a foot of light powder that I spent all afternoon clearing from the driveway and deck. I needed all my tools to get those areas (and the Tundra) cleared. The snow thrower got used to clear a path for the tractor. The tractor's front bucket got the snow over the edge of the driveway and all the parking area down to (nearly) bare ground. It also was handy in getting rid of the huge pile of snow the town plow left at the end of the drive. The broom got the snow off the Tundra's roof and the shovel got the close in stuff around the vehicles where the thrower and tractor couldn't go as well as the stuff on the deck. It "only" took me six hours to do the work. (Knees did well with the labor!)

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Joe and I got down to the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg on Friday. The only thing we really wanted to do was book a fishing trip with Caesar's North Camps for this summer yet we spent over three hours walking around looking at all the exhibits and talking to a few venders. We made a few donations to the NRA-ILA and Hunter United For Sunday Hunting, too. Joe ended up purchasing some gun cleaner that didn't smell like Hoppe's #9. (His wife just doesn't like that odor for some reason.) Gunzilla actually has a very faint floral aroma. We also traveled over to Cabela's where Joe picked up some primers to reload pistol ammo. I looked at some gun safes but passed on buying one knowing that it wouldn't be until spring that I could actually get it into the basement because of all the snow drifts/piles that are in the way. (Knees did well with all the walking!)

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The "birds that I've seen" count has improved slightly. A pair of Downy Woodpeckers have appeared at the deck feeders at the Aerie. Usually they are winter travelers with the Chickadees, Titmice and Nuthatches, but they have been few and far between this winter. On our way to Harrisburg and back, Joe and I saw a pair of Bald Eagles along Route 322 and the Susquehanna River, a Turkey Vulture east of the city along Route 22 and a flock of Canada Geese along Route 61. And, this past Saturday, Terry and I saw a flock of English Sparrows over in Wellsboro when we went to the ski shop to get a really good (and expensive!) pair of mittens to protect my hands from the cold.

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The temperatures have continued to range from near zero all the way "up" to the mid 20s. We got another inch of snow last night--the second such snowfall since the Big One on Tuesday-Wednesday. I have to go out with the shovel to get things down to stone again. Just let me have another cup of coffee and give the sun a chance to get above the trees on the hill.

There doesn't appear to be anything significant in the forecast for the next week or so. Hopefully they are on the money with that and the predicted rise in temperatures for next week. Looking at the rivers as Joe and I drove around on Friday, I sure hope things warm up and thaw before we get any heavy rains. There's lots of ice on the rivers and ice dams could created significant flooding if the water doesn't flow free before the runoff from melted snow/rain occurs.

The first person to complain about the heat this summer is going to get it! POW! ZOOM!

Week 26: Cold. Very cold. Oh. And snowy.

Yesterday marked the 26th week since I had my knees replace. That's the six month mark and things are progressing swimmingly. The twins are performing well in all facets of life but one: I can't kneel down worth a damn! Putting the knees onto a hard surface like the floor is very, very painful. I'll have to invest in some serious knee pads soon. Or, at the very least, remember to roll up a thick coat, throw rug, or cat before I attempt to kneel even to fetch a bowl from the back of the cabinet.

******

Terry got home around 5 PM Sunday, swapped out her clothes in her suitcase, grabbed a few hours sleep, and hit the road south at 6 AM Monday morning. She made it to Columbia, SC by 5 PM with only a few short stops along the way. The road was clear and she reported plenty of sunlight along the way. When she called to let me know she had made it, it was nearly 60 degrees (it was just 25 at the Aerie). This morning it was just 5 degrees here in the Northern Tier of PA and snowing again. (It's been lightly snowing since 11 AM on Monday.) At least there's no wind...yet. There IS a high wind warning for later today. She may not want to come home.

She and her cousins were taking all too much pleasure in mentioning the new palm tree they have in the yard...and the 60 degree temperatures. Wait until hurricane season!

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The light snow has accumulated only about an inch maybe two since yesterday which is fine by me. This particular storm, dubbed Juno by the folks at weather.com, is dumping much more snow to the east and south according to the forecast maps. Southeast PA and northern NJ may see up to a foot. Like I said, Terry may not want to come home.

The snow plow has been up and down our hill already this morning. It seemed to have trouble just on the lower edge of our property. Whether there was a patch of ice or the driver just had trouble getting the right gear, or setting up the cinder spreader correctly he had to back up several times to get a running start that carried him the rest of the way up the hill. I'll know more about his troubles when I go out in a bit to fetch the mail. Should be quite a bit between the post office being closed on Monday and my being occupied shoveling snow on Saturday.

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I spent the better part of Monday turning a bunch of semifrozen butternut squash into mash and then freezing the results for use in pies and soups. The garage turns out to be a poor choice for long term storage when the temperatures get down to single digits--or lower--for extended periods. That or the squash need some insulated protection if they are to reside there. Perhaps I should have put them in one of the styrofoam coolers. In any event, I got four containers of two cups each put into the freezer.

I'll be enjoying the small amount that was left over with a little brown sugar and butter as a side dish for my dinner today.

******

While digging out the containers for freezing, I discovered the shelf in the cabinet was cock-eyed. I had to pull everything out, cut a couple of "legs" and put them in to support the shelf and then put everything back in. (Hence the complaint about kneeling above.) Conclusion: We have way too much stuff in there unless we are prepared to open a bakery. Why have five or six pie pans (metal, glass, ceramic), five or six muffin/cupcake pans, five bread loaf pans (again, metal, glass and ceramic), two bundt pans, a couple of specialty baking pans (heart shaped? Really?) and scadie-eight gazillion plastic Tupperware containers and their lids, not to mention at least eight different configurations on a frying pan?

I'm sure Terry has some justification for all of the above. If not she'll just point to my fishing/hunting/wood working gear and say, "Well?"

Certainties: Snow, Death, and Taxes

A series of winter lows are moving along the edge of the cold air that's bulged southward. Again. Friday's low dumped between 2 and 3 inches of light, white powder on the Aerie while the cold air moved in afterward. Two or three inches isn't enough to fire the tractor up nor is it enough to run the thrower, so I spent three hours in 18 degree temperatures shoveling the driveway. Luckily, there was no wind to blow the snow back in my face and my flannel-lined jeans, wool coat and fleece-lined gloves kept me warm when standing still. Once I was swinging the shovel, I even broke a sweat.

Three hours walking back and forth pushing the snow shovel. (I try not to lift and throw too much. Even the light stuff can get to you after a while.) As someone said on Facebook, I really gave the knees a workout. This morning I was still a bit achy. One thing I can be sure of, this won't be the last snow of the season.

Last night's little zephyr passed south and east of us and left only a tiny dusting of powder on the ground. (They say the next couple will do the same.) And the temperatures fell even further reaching a low of 8 degrees at dawn this morning. Yeah, it did shoot up to 22 degrees this afternoon under a cloudless, sunny sky, but it's going down tonight and tomorrow we may not see the teens.

This afternoon, I refilled the firewood rack in the garage from the woodpile behind the garage.  The job would be easier if not for the hump left from the ditch the well drillers had dug and filled. That and the amount of stuff in the garage form Mom's house. The dirt hump means I have to walk about 10 feet from pile to wheel barrow while all the stuff in the garage means I have to do the same at the opposite end. Four trips back and forth to fill the rack but at least I'll be toasty the next couple of days.

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Terry returns form her stitching weekend tonight. She won't be home long. She was going to go to New Jersey to see how things are progressing there, but then we got a phone call from South Carolina. Her cousin Lorraine, who has been battling cancer, has had her brain cancer stop responding to treatment. The prognosis is not good with the doctors saying she could survive for "up to three months" but it's really day-to-day. So, after a change of clothes and a night's sleep, Terry will be rolling down to Columbia and Sumter.

******

All the tax info is starting to arrive in the mail. I just pile them up for Terry to deal with. She speaks better bureaucratitis than I do. She can read through the forms without screaming...much. But this year, with Mom's death and all, even she is throwing in the cards and we'll be seeking professional help. As usual, I'll still be writing the checks.

Week 24: Knees? What knees?

Monday marks the 24th week since I had both my knees replaced. And it's been one hell of a week!

Wednesday night into and through Thursday we got snow. About 8 inches of light, powdery snow. Why was it so light and powdery? Because we also got really, really cold air. Like minus 8 degree air. At least we didn't get the high winds that they were predicting...until Friday night into Saturday. Even then the winds came from the south and had little impact on the Aerie which is protected from that direction by Armenia Mountain Ridge.

This was the second large storm of the season. After the first one we had several days of warmth that melted all the snow. This time we won't be so lucky. After nearly reaching 40 degrees today, we will be getting rain, freezing rain and cold air. Long range forecasts aren't promising any warmth in the near future.

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I spent four hours on Friday in bright sunshine but cold, cold air clearing the driveway using the tractor. The job wasn't difficult but I paid a price just the same. The glove on my left hand kept slipping off my finger tips and I got  a severe case of frostbite. The middle finger of my left hand turned deep purple and is now one giant blister. It looks like I stuck it in the fire for a couple of minutes. Whether I lose any part of that finger and/or need a skin graft won't be known for a couple of weeks according to the doctor at the ER over at the new Guthrie Hospital in Troy. Three other fingers (index, ring finger and thumb) are also a bit tingly but they never changed color or blistered

I'll call my doctor Monday morning for a follow-up consultation. I'll be seeing him on Wednesday anyway for a colonoscopy...which has been scheduled and rescheduled several times. The last cancellation being Friday morning.

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Terry and I signed  a contract to purchase four acres adjacent to ours. We're overpaying for the lot considering the seller is keeping the mineral rights, but there's a flat area near the road with electric brought into that spot. There's also a building site that has had a perk test in the back end of the lot and a home built there would pretty much close our land to any hunting as well as sandwich us between two neighbors. 

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Oh, and my neck is still sore as heck. Heat hasn't helped. And pain pills haven't helped (Although they--the pills--probably don't know what they should target. *sigh*)

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The well is doing as good as you might expect. There's some sediment still coming through but the filter has been stopping nearly all of that crap and the water going into the cistern  and out of our faucets is clear.

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My knees? What about them? They have been doing great! Either the other pains have distracted me or they really are virtually pain free...even on the stairs.

Week…23 (?)

It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted anything here. That’s partly due to this being a slow time of year and partly due to laziness. Oh…we’ve been doing stuff, but it’s been mostly dull routine stuff.

After nearly two weeks of operation, the water from the new well has cleared up and there’s no color—red or gray—when it goes through the filter. Having gone through several cycles of filling the cistern, even the water in the 500 gallon tank is clearing up. Guess there’s some truth to the saying: “Dilution IS the solution to pollution.” (I’m fully aware that that is NOT what the saying is, but in this case it works!)

 

Finally we can wash clothes and dishes, shower, flush...all things we took for granted but which became a constant worry when the old well was misbehaving. 

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Terry and I drove into New Jersey to celebrate Christmas Eve with my sister and her family. Unfortunately my Grand-niece, Sami, came down with chicken pox the day before so she and her dad had to stay home. My other Grand-niece, Emilee, was there, but being just a few months old, seemed totally unimpressed with the goings on. Still, it was nice to visit with family.

We stayed that night at Mom’s house in Linden and cleaned a few more items out of the garage and cupboards. There’s very little left that we need to remove before we close on the sale of the house.

 ******

 

We had no Christmas Tree at the Aerie this year. We were afraid of what the cats might do. One or two of them tend to chew on and eat any greenery in the house. And then throw up. We've got too many ornaments to allow the furry ones to dictate our deisre for a little holiday decoration, however. Besides, we need the extra Christmas Cheer a tree will instill. The sun just arrives too late in the morning--when it arrives at all.

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Speaking of removal…A crew was hard at work today removing the old oil tank buried in the front yards. They discovered there was a small hole in that tank and, despite having been drained and filled with sand nearly 10 years ago, there was some soil contamination. Exactly how much will be determined as they work to clean it up. Hopefully, there isn’t much and they will be done in a day or two. We already have a contract on the house and the closing should take place before Presidents' Day.

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We had that eight inch snowfall two weeks ago but that was followed by heavy rains and near 60 degrees so that by the following Monday (one week ago) all the snow was gone. Aah, but that was merely a temporary condition. Since then we’ve had two smaller, two inch snowfalls sandwiched around a couple of days of 40 degrees. Things are looking much colder later this week with lows in the negative area possible on Friday.

 

One of the most dispiriting things this time of year is to stand on the deck and look at the gardens and realize that I can do nothing until at least April 15th when the soil is no longer covered by snow and has thawed sufficiently to make working it possible.

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So far, we've only had the usual crew of winter birds coming to the feeders. Goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, juncoes...the usuals. One day we did have some purple finches but just one day. With the weather, the well, and dealing with Mom's home in New Jersey, I've not gotten out to do any birding in the field. That will be changing. Our Audubon chapter will be doing its Christmas Bird Count on January 1st. One of my New Year's Resolutions will be to spend at least five hours at least once a week out in the field bird watching. Another will be to regularly keep a check list of the birds I see on every outing and a running tally throughout the year. With the improvement of my knees, I want to take full advantage of them.

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As the title of this post indicates, my knees are now 23 weeks old. They couldn’t feel better. Still a little pain going down the stairs, but they are feeling just fine. I need to remind myself to exercise more often but more importantly do stretching exercises daily.

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I hope your Christmas was a Joyous one and that the New Year brings you Happiness and Joy.

Week 21: Feelin' Good!

The knees are now 21 weeks old (four months actually) and are feeling pretty good. Stairs continue to be a problem but it's getting easier to go up and down. Walking on flat surfaces and even rough terrain and slippery slopes presents no difficulty. Looking forward to the day I won't think about going up and down the steps.

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The well drillers worked hard on Friday and punched down to a depth of 320-340 feet. They were disappointed that the recharge rate was only 3 gallons per minute, but that's still a gallon per minute higher than we have in the current shallow (132 feet) well.

Today they pulled the bit and packed up the drill rig. Tomorrow (weather permitting) they'll install the pump. Hopefully we'll have water running later this week.

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Saturday's storm produced 8 inches of light, fluffy snow. Sunday, Terry cleared the deck and the area in front of the front door. I used the tractor to clear the driveway. With the need to scoop and dump with the bucket loader, it took me close to three hours of driving around. Then another hour was needed to brush the snow off the roofs of the Tundra, Jeep and Aveo and shovel the snow that was too close to the vehicles and RV to use the tractor. A long morning!

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Additional snow is forecast from several quick moving fronts this week. "They" say we'll have 2-5 inches from them--even as "they" are saying the temperatures will be in the 40s this weekend. We're likely to be having a white Christmas this year. And a Ground Hog Day (February 2nd), Valentine's Day (February 14th), Presidents' Day (February 17th), Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th) and maybe even Easter (April 20th). Global warming my a$$!

Week 18 The Knees and More

I spent many hours behind the wheel of the Tundra this week driving back and forth between the Aerie and Mom's house in Linden, NJ. It's 250 miles one way and I made three trips in eight days. Add the trip to and fro for Mom's funeral and since October 28th I tallied 2000 miles. With each one-way trip taking approximately 4.5 hours, that's some 36 hours. That didn't leave a lot of time for exercises but, once I was at Mom's, climbing up and down stairs, toting boxes and bags and furniture more than made up for my lack of routine. Back at the Aerie, unloading much of that stuff and hauling the rest to the dump also had me doing what I call "occupational therapy."

That said, I've got to report that there are days when I (almost) don't notice any pain in either knee. The left is still complaining more than the right, however, so there is still some room for improvement.

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We got our first really cold weather of the season yesterday as the low temperature was 8.8 degrees at 6:45 in the morning. That day it got all the way up to 22 degrees. Today was slightly warmer with a low of 11.5 degrees and a high 30.9 degrees. The thermometer making these readings is on the porch just eight feet from the house and on the sunny side to boot so there may be some heat island effect going on.

We're forecast to get a bit of serious snow starting Tuesday night and all day on Wednesday. It's supposed to be warming late in the day on Tuesday causing the snow to switch to mixed precipitation which will affect the amount of snow. Maps currently show us in the 3-6 inch zone but that 6+ area is less than 75 miles to the west so a slight shift in either the temperature or the storm system could bring us more.

Our nephew, Brian, is supposed to fly into NJ Wednesday morning to pick up the car Mom left to him and then drive out here for Thanksgiving. The weather's likely to affect his flight and decision to drive northwest. Vicki, his wife, will be flying into Corning/Elmira on Saturday, renting a SUV and coming for a second Thanksgiving dinner before they both drive home to Milwaukee hauling several large pieces of furniture (hence the SUV).

Once again, the best plans aft gang astray.

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Terry and I made one more trip to the dump today with ten or so bags of trash from Mom's house as well as some of our own. There's still a good deal of sorting and decision making to be made as well as some old paints that need to be made safe for disposal, so there will be more trips to the dump in the future.

Terry also took care of some banking stuff in connection with her role as executrix. After I shifted stuff around in the garage, I turned the tractor around to prepare for "The Snow" they say is coming. Some of the stuff I had to move included folding chairs--lots of folding chairs--we didn't need. Terry took them and a couple bags of clothes to My Neighbors' Closet in Mansfield and they were very happy to receive them.

Delayed Spring.

So, last evening just after the sun set I stepped out on the deck and heard the first Woodcock of the year. That caused me to write this on my Facebook page:

Aah! Spring must be near. I just heard my first Timerdoodle (aka Woodcock) of the year "peent" in the field across the road. Then the twittering flight as he rose to attract a mate. Hope the poor bugger doesn't get too cold and lonely tonight!

And, of course, his evening it's snowing. *sigh*

Not much snow falling and we shouldn't get much in the way of accumulation, but it's been falling in varying intensity all freakin' day there's enough to be annoying. Everything is white again and that just makes it feel colder than the 27 degrees we've currently got or today's "high" of 30 that we had around 4 PM.

The two week forecast shows highs in the upper 30s to low 40s (they took the 50s out yesterday) with overnight lows in the 20s and even the teens. This is good news for the maple sap collectors in their sugar bushes, but not much comfort to those of us looking longingly at our gardens.

Phil predicted an early spring but it appears he may have been working part time as an economic forecaster for the Democrats. Spring and recover are both delayed.

Our Day

Busy, busy day today.

It actually began yesterday afternoon when Jess went online to order a set of tires for her Yaris. (Called “Bob” as in the dread Pirate Roberts. Arrrggghhh! = Yar(is). Get it? She went to the Pep Boys web site since their prices are good and their Cartert, NJ store was nearby to 1) Linden, NJ and 2) the DMV Inspection Station. We thought the ordering process went well and Jess had a confirmation that they had four tires of the size their step-by-step guide recommended. (Jess was unable to schedule the needed oil change, however, because of an issue with the program.)

At 8:00AM we showed up, changed the work order to include the oil change and waited. They Brought Bob in, put him on the lift, pulled all four tires, and took the rubber off the rims. Oil was changed. An hour after they started, one of the mechanics came out, talked to the clerk, and then the clerk came to us to say the tires their computer recommended were the wrong sized. Bob, whom we purchased used five years ago, had had an upgrade in his style package when he was first manufactured. His tires were just t-h-i-s much bigger than standard. They would cost about $5 more but not to worry, they had them in stock. (An hour later we would learn that this was a lie. They had THREE of them in stock. The fourth was in Edison. But they didn’t send anyone for that tire until they had put the other three on. It took them almost an hour to get that fourth tire.) We finally got Bob out of Pep Boys around 11 AM.

Then it was off to the DMV for an inspection. It was only SEVEN months past due. Luckily, they had four lines open and only three vehicles in each.One lane was for “Heavy Duty” vehicles and the van directly ahead of us was directed to that lane. We figured little Bob would be headed to one of the other lanes but were surprised that he was directed to follow the van. No matter. We pulled up, exited Bob and walked over to the waiting area. Just 15 minutes later we were called over as the inspector was putting on a new sticker and waving us on our way.

Jess, Bob and I went back to Linden where Terry had loaded the Tundra with our belongings. A quick stop to fill the coffee cups and all of us were heading to Springfield to Auto Land and the Toyota dealer. The plan was to pay off the balance of the loan that allowed Jess to purchase Bob. That was the plan. *sigh* However….

We learned that you cannot pay off loans AT the dealership. You have to either mail a check to Toyota Financial or pay the balance over the phone with either a debit card (NOT a credit card) or automatic withdrawal from your checking account. We could have done THAT while waiting for the new tires! DOH!

Anyway, we got the loan paid off in about 10 minutes of talking to a real live person on the phone.  Bob now had new tires, new oil and filter, a valid inspection sticker, and he was emancipated! (Payment confirmation will be mailed today. Title will be mailed in 7-10 days.)

Jess went off to get lunch before reporting to work. Terry and I headed west on I-80 to the Aerie into the midst of a bear of a snow storm. It was about 12:20 PM.

Before we got out of New Jersey, we ran into snowflakes falling down. By the time we reached Tannersville, PA it was snowing pretty hard. As we went up the hill on I-80 on to the Pocono Plateau, it was accumulating. By the time we reached Bloomsburg, it was pretty slick and cars were either ending up in the ditch or bouncing off one another. We pushed on, however.

We exited I-80 for I-180 and Williamsport. Sections of this route had 3-4 inches of snow and may have seen a plow. Nearer Williamsport, the road may have heard of a snow plow. And it got worse as we went north on Route 15. I turned on the 4-wheel HI drive on the Tundra and we crept northward at 30-40 mph.

We got onto Route 6 in Mansfield and headed east to the Aerie. Route 6 had heard rumors of a snow plow. We turned south off Route 6 onto the paved road heading toward Armenia mountain. This and the dirt road heading up the hill to the Aerie had no idea what a snow plow was. And the snow was now over 6 inches in depth. I switched to 4 wheel drive LO and we ground up the hill at about 15 mph…but up the hill we went. And into the driveway of the Aerie and right up to the front door where snow blown off the garage and house roof and piled to a depth of 8-9 inches.

It was 6:30 PM.  Normally, the trip would take 4 to 4-1/2 hours. This afternoon it took a tad over 6 hours. But we’re home. It’s a great deal easier to dig out from inside--where the tractor and snow thrower are located--than it is to do from the outside-where there’s not even any place to park.

And so went our day. How was yours?

Aerie Aftermath

I drove down the hill today to pick up the mail. I wasn't able to get it on Saturday because our post office is only open two hours on Saturdays (9 to 11 AM) and I was at the Earth Day event. And I wasn't able to get it on Monday because I was busy trying to clear the driveway of snow and, when that was finished I just said, "Frelk it!"

Before I left home, however, I had to remove the snow that hadn't yet slid off the top of the Tundra. With the temperature above the freezing mark (barely) the snow was heavier and wetter than when it had fallen but the slight melting on the surface made it slick as a well greased pig. A little push or pull with the brush was all it took to get the avalanche started. Luckily, it's a long handled brush or my boots would have been buried and my feet soaked--again.

The road had been plowed and there was lots of bare dirt/cinders showing. The area just below our place was only one lane wide and you could see how the snow plow had had difficulty moving the easily packed and heavy snow. Huge balls of the stuff had been pushed to the side and it looked like a troop of easily distracted children had given up on building an army of snowmen when the first tier had gotten too large to push any more.

Here and there, branches littered the road where the heavy snow had caused them to snap or where, bent under the snow's weight, they had been broken off by the top of the dump truck used to plow and cinder the road. In other spots, whip slender aspens bent over the road blocking part of the lane and causing me to swerve around the outstretched limbs. I saw only one or two very large limbs/trees downed and their breaks exposed older partially rotted joints that gave way. (From our deck, I can see a few thin trees and/or limbs in the woods that I will have to cut in to smaller pieces.) A small old barn on the corner that had been listing about 15 degrees out of plumb was reduced to a pile of boards by the crushing weight of the snow.

As I neared Route 6, however, the snow depth decreased dramatically. The 10-12 inches at the Aerie became a mere 2-3 inches with lots of bare grass exposed beneath the trees. It was really quite a contrast. Elevation as well as location really do make a difference. The little blob that hung around all day yesterday did not extend that far to the northwest so as to reach the post office but it certainly produced snow here, some 1400 feet higher.

Anyway, there's a good deal of melting going on today as the temperature is in the upper 30s and even hit 40 degrees when the sun peeked through the clouds. The driveway--except where the snow slid off the Tundra and Jeep--is nearly down to earth and stone. Nearly all the clumps of snow on the pine boughs have either melted off or been blown off by the light breezes. It will take a couple of days for the snow on the lawn to melt completely but the grass and, most certainly, the dandelions will survive.

******

I mentioned on Facebook that we had a black bear come visiting last night. The bear looked to be a two year-old  with a pointed snout and, judging by its size when it stood leaning on the telephone pole, weighing between 150 and 175 pounds. It sat under the bird feeder I have hanging from the telephone pole in the yard and carefully removed every sunflower seed it contained. I watched it for a half an hour and didn't have the heart to chase it away as this was possibly the easiest food it could find with a foot of snow underfoot. And it repaid my generosity by not tearing the feeder down or even knocking the snow off its roof. It did investigate the deck but didn't come beyond the top step before heading back the way it had come--right under Terry's window and against the side of the house where the snow was less deep.

April Snow At The Aerie

It's April 23rd at the Aerie and a late snow storm dumped 10-12 inches of heavy, wet, white on the ground. Snow is good. Snow is fine. But once April 15th has passed, snow falls of this magnitude should be over. (Click on any of the photos to enlarge 'em.)

 

Look down the deck at 7 AM today. 

A Pine Siskin seeks sustenance.

A view to the west. 

 The onions are buried, the pool is closed and the redbud is shivering.

 The Jeep Liberty has been jailed.

 The Tundra feels right at home.

 By late afternoon, much of the driveway got turned into slush and mud by the tractor.

 And the view to the west revealed the hills and windmills were still there.

As twilight approaches, the snow is supposed to taper off but it's going the other way. The hills and windmills are once again shrouded and out of sight. The trees are being weighted down once more. The snow is falling as hard as it did all day. Luckily it hasn't begun to stick again to the cleared surfaces but as the temperature falls below the freezing mark, it will.

The high today was just 35 degrees. We are supposed to see the 40s tomorrow and 50 on Wednesday. Some rain showers during the day and snow showers at night are possible on Tuesday but only "partly cloudy" is in the Wednesday forecast. Thursday it will be warmer (high 50s) and rainy. This snow will not last long, but it has already been a nuisance.

April Snow

The snow fell all night and continues as I type. We've got close to a foot of heavy wet stuff on the ground. Many of the trees are coated and bent under the weight. Terry managed to get home from New Jersey around 8 PM when there was just a light dusting starting to stick to the dirt road and driveway. She said there was nothing but rain at the lower elevations.

We did lose power during the night. Sometime around 3:30 AM  Terry woke up and saw the clock was still on but at 5 AM it wasn't. Power came back at 6:30 AM. (It's great to live in a dairy farming area! Cows have to be milked and milk kept cold so power repairs are a priority.) The temperature in the house never got below 60 degrees thanks to the fire I had going last night and the lack of wind outside. Outside temperature is just around 29 degrees, too, which helps.  And the snow on the roof acts as even more insulation.

I'll have to get the tractor out and clear the driveway in a bit but as long as it's still snowing I can wait a while. The snow thrower won't do me much good with the kind of snow we've got. Too heavy and wet for it to be tossed very far and, once moved, it would just pack even more tightly.

The small birds are going nuts outside. The feeders are being mobbed by Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, Purple Finches and Chickadees as well as others.Although the ports are difficult to reach because of the snow they are doing alright. At least they haven't got to compete with the squirrels who are sleeping in this morning.

TV reports that there's only 2-3 inches of snow in Elmira but up to a foot in Ithaca, NY. West of here, over toward Erie, PA and up to Buffalo, NY there's more than a foot. I'll try to get some pictures of the snow before and after I clear the drive.

Snowy Morning At the Aerie

I was going to write about how we have enjoyed some Camelot Snow over the last week or so. (That's an inch or so of snow that arrives over night but melts away during the day.) The weather folks forecast a 2-4 inch fall overnight that would be followed by some pretty heavy rain which would wash it all away. Didn't happen. Those prognosticators proved they were NOT Merlin. We got the snow but no following rain.

Some 4+ inches of heavy, wet snow lay on the ground--which had been completely bare thanks to bright sunshine and 45+ degree temperatures on Thursday. Terry tackled the deck while I started with the shovel on the driveway. I soon gave that up and started up the tractor. (I deemed the snow too wet and heavy for the snow thrower to be of much use.) It took some time and I scrapped a good bit of the gravel and dirt that comprises the driveway, but the job did get done.

Terry headed out to the Bradford library for one of her stitching meetings and I went for t he mail. Our road hadn't been touched by a plow yet and the going was a bit rough but it was down hill. The paved roads and the dirt portion serviced by the school buses (two hour delay) had been plowed and were quite passable. Coming back up the hill I needed to switch over to 4-wheel high and had only a few moments when the Tundra slipped in the heavy snow. Of course, I was followed by the snow plow that cleared the road and spread some cinders in its wake.

The temp is now 35-36 degrees and there's a bit of a drizzle falling so what's left on the road and driveway may well be gone before things freeze up tonight.

The birds are pleased that the feeders are filled. I'm happy that the driveway and road are cleared and Terry should have little difficulty getting home this afternoon with the pizza she'll pick up in Troy. I even saw three deer pass through the back part of the yard when the snow plow created enough racket to stir them from their beds. Even the cats are happy--they just got fed.

Time for another cup of coffee.

Done

It took two hours of walking behind the snow thrower to get the job finished, but the driveway is now clear. I'll have to go back and clean the end of the driveway once the snow plow makes its appearance, but that's a minor problem.

The only difficulty I had was having to unlodge one stone that wedged the impeller and stopped the machine early on when it was still a STONE thrower and not a SNOW thrower. An adjustment to the skids raised the front just enough to put a halt to that.

The temperature hasn't risen much as it sits at 20-22 degrees. And there's still no breeze blowing. The clouds don't look to be leaving anytime soon so our chances of seeing any Northern Lights isn't looking good.