Is it that I’m getting older or is it that I just have too many things to do? Whatever the reason, it seems to take me longer to do whatever the task is at hand and I can only do one thing at a time. The days of multitasking are no longer. With that said, I will try to catch readers up on the happenings of the past two weeks.
“Snow! Snow! Come out in the snow! Do you like it? Yes or no?” Those are lines from the children’s book “Snow,” by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman, copyright 1962. We certainly were inundated with a season’s worth of snow in about 10 days. The storm on Feb. 7 left us with seven inches but not before turning to rain, leaving an icy crust. On Feb. 9, eight inches more and Feb. 11, six inches. Following right behind was our big one – a true blizzard that began in the afternoon of Feb. 12 and went right through the afternoon of Feb. 13, dumping 30 inches on us and leaving drifts of 5-8 feet.
Let me tell you that this was one for the history books, and everyone that I heard from said it was like no other that they had experienced. Now that’s saying a lot for those hardy Mainers!
Here at my house, we had to dig our way from the front door of the house to the woodshed and from the back door to the garage. And then it was shoveling to clear vents — heat, exhaust, dryer, etc. Thankfully, we never lost power, even though I was ready with the water drawn off, flashlights, candles, food, heat, etc.
This was one of those storms when the government called for everyone but essential personnel to stay home and stay off the roads. Airports and other forms of transportation were also shut down. It was just too dangerous for all, and the plow drivers that were trying to keep up with it really didn’t need any more distractions than necessary. Many were called off until the conditions improved enough. To them, a big thanks! Oh, and we must not forget those that shovel roofs. Thank you, too!
That brings us to Feb. 15, and this one started as rain before going over to snow and ending on Feb. 16 – another six inches. After this one, I waded through the waist-high snow to retrieve the snowman flag that I had put up for some festive color and whimsy. I surrender! And those of you who did the snow dance, I guess it worked! FYI: We are at 22 of the 30 predicted cat trackers for the winter of 2016-2017.
Then as a reward we had a beautiful weekend to recover from all the shoveling. The temperatures rebounded to the 40s, and even 50 degrees, which provided us with nice, slow melting of the gigantic snow piles, driveways, and roofs.
We made it a point to get out and sit on the deck to enjoy the sunshine and take in some vitamin D. I know others were doing the same thing via social media, and I loved the pics of bare feet, a clear deck, and snow all around.
Now it is February vacation and what great opportunities for the kids for all outdoor winter activities – sledding, snowman/fort building, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, etc.
On the farm: Ross and Meaghan have added two more babies to the group, this time two lambs born on Feb. 21. I’ll have to get over there for pictures.
Sincere sympathy is extended to Nancy Dodge and family and friends at the passing of her husband Mike on Jan. 29.
Happy belated anniversary goes out to Fred and Marie Naylor as they celebrated 57 years together on Monday, Feb. 13.
Birthdays: Belated birthday wishes go out to Jane Mayo Roos-Griesar on Feb. 14, Brian Simmons and Rick Connell on Feb. 16, Shannon Mahan on Feb. 17, Jay Nichols and Renee Coombs on Feb. 18, Nicholas Lathrop on Feb. 19, and Sandra Lane and Deborah Gilbert on Feb. 21. I hope they were all happy ones!
And this week’s birthday wishes go to Hannah Gale on Feb. 22, Reggie Reilly on Feb. 24, and Jerry Pruitt on Feb. 25. Hope they are all happy ones!
Hang in there, everyone; spring is only about a month away — so close you can almost taste it! Got those seed orders in?
Have a good one!
