Happy New Year! A selection of new year resolutions for 2022 that I will undoubtedly not meet:
We got another 3 inches of snow last night and today. I have absolutely no idea when is the best time to try clearing my driveway. I cleared some of the initial snow that we got on Boxing Day, but since it has never got above freezing then all that did was turn my driveway into an icy and slippery mess. And now there's more snow on top of this hardened layer of ice. I don't think this is good. We don't get above freezing until about Saturday afternoon, so I don't think I will try clearing my driveway again until then or Sunday. So that will be over a week that I'm unable to take my car out anywhere. Good job I stocked up on food before Christmas! And to think that today was the day I was supposed to have flown back to Seattle (if the flight wasn't canceled!). I have absolutely no idea what I would have done - I wouldn't have been able to drive all the way home from the airport, but I think the main roads are probably still drivable so I could have made it back part of the way. If this extreme weather is the new norm, then it's making me question (a) whether I should move somewhere less isolating, and (b) whether my next car should have 4-wheel drive.
I'm keeping this run of winter photos going. As I gingerly made my way to the bottom of my driveway today, here is what I came across.
Firstly, someone had made an absolute mess performing a u-turn at the bottom of my driveway. At least they didn't perform the u-turn on the grass a bit further up my driveway - but it sure looks like they crossed my property line.
It was probably the same person who managed to drive their trailer into the ditch just down the road, and abandoned it.
As you can see, the road at the bottom of my driveway has not been treated. So it is really icy and slippery, and on a slope, so even if I clear my driveway then I'm still not going to be able to drive anywhere until it gets treated (which hopefully it will, it has in the past). But when I went to pick up a few supplies from the corner shop, I noticed that none of the streets in my neighborhood have been treated. Jeez, the cold weather and snow was forecast, so whichever department it is have really dropped the ball when it comes to preparing the roads for this mess.
Rabbit:
Deer:
Some kind of bird (though thinking about it, this is probably actually just pine needles):
A nice shot of my house from my driveway on a clear and extremely cold wintry day:
Well, I didn't get a white Christmas. But boy, that wasn't the case on Boxing Day today. Here is what I woke up to:
Once again the weather forecasts were well off. What was only supposed to be a light dusting of snow, with about 50% probability of it actually snowing, turned out to be a lot more. I reckon between what fell last night and throughout today, I've probably got about 6 inches of snow accumulation on the ground where I am. So far. Great for kids, no good for anybody else. Unfortunately we are also experiencing extremely cold temperatures (it's about -5 Celsius right now), which was accurately forecast, and this is a recipe for disaster. It's going to freeze up, especially tonight (-10 Celsius) and it's not getting above freezing until about Thursday. Unfortunately, Thursday is also when another big round of snowfall is predicted. I don't even know when to start shoveling snow from my driveway - which is going to be a nightmare when it's frozen instead of the light and fluffy stuff. I don't think I'm going to be using my car anytime soon. And I've had to spend most of the day bringing my hummingbird feeders inside to thaw out - the poor things couldn't access the food because of the snow and the sugar water freezing up. And there certainly isn't anything else for them to feed on - so I'm doing what I can. And by the noise they make, and landing on the feeder that I have in my hand whilst I'm replacing it, I think they appreciate it.
What I miss most about being here rather than back in the UK on Christmas Day is the food, and particularly a home-cooked Christmas dinner that my Mum has spent hours on (with little to no appreciation). I managed to have a pre-prepared roast turkey meal today, but it didn't compare. But at least I managed to acquire a Christmas pudding and some custard, and that was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, since having it I have been flatulent all evening. I am clearly no longer used to the heaviness of a Christmas pudding.