Life in WI has been pretty unremarkable. We had a couple big storms and some snow days in December/January, and we've gotten a bit here and there to keep the cover constant, but for the past month or so, everyone else seems to be getting "our share" and then some.

The bruises on my hand and knee from last week when I was snow blowing my neighbor's driveway because he had knee surgery and managed to fall under my snow blower in the process have almost gone away!

I've read some great books and cooked some comfort food... pretty much winter as usual. :o)

There were two people I thought of throughout this winter. One of them was Michelle, and the other Gandle. I feel almost ashamed to complain about snow, ice and cold compared to what they get routinely in this season.

Yes, KJ it wasn't so much the amount of snow, or icy rains, or cold. It was the timing. I have managed to get out to market and do what ever else needs to be done on an average of one day a week for the last month. I have not lost power, and that surprises me...knock wood.....knock wood.

I have some eight foot long icicles, and the gutters to both houses I own are solid dams of ice. If I weren't respectably slender I could not even have gotten into my town house. The ice in front of the doors were so high, they doors only open a foot. Ditto the doors on my chicken coop. The tractor is useless off the paved areas. DH has bladed out religiously so that we can get to the road, but it doesn't help me when I have a couple hundred pounds of feed to take to the chickens. I have had to haul them out either on my shoulders (thanking God I can still heft them at my age) and traips up to my knees through the snow and up and down hills with them. The last bag, I made an impromptu sled out of an inverted snow shovel.

I am potting up nursery stock in the g'houses and the bales of soil are frozen like eighty pound icecubes, so that they have to be chiseled apart and taken to the g'house for a two or three day thaw days ahead of when I need them.

I've lost several hens to the endless days of below freezing weather with no let-up. The old ones who just don't have the stamina, regardless of who well I stoke them up with corn or how much hay I bed them in. I know some of the birds who frequent our feeder have perished as well. One of them was a one-legged titmouse who was adjusting well to a leg injury. I watched his little leg dry up and just fall off. He is gone. As well as a couple wrens who somehow got into our house and was nabbed by our little dog before we could intercede.

We'd be digging out from one storm when the next would hit. And the endless dark days, with no sun was the hardest. But, you know, I am giving thanks that we are warm, fed, and my mate and I aren't so stir-crazy we killed each other. LOL. I have had worst winters, to be sure. One of them was when we lost power for three days with thousands of poinsettias on the bench in the g'houses. We had to take two hour shifts to keep the generators fueled, and our irrigation well was without power. So, I had to make endless trips through the snow, day and nights, to our springhead to pull up water to irrigate the flowers. Bucket, by bucket. All the plants were pre-sold and it was days to delivery. THAT was my worst winter.

Our snow is almost gone. We just had about 18", a lot of evaporated over the last couple of days and today we had temps up to 53 degr. and most of it melted. For sure would not want to clean off the roof, it's two stories up.

what have you had to do to try to make life as normal as possible under the extreme circumstances we've been living in?

Try to somehow convince a 15 inch tall poodle that pooping in 2.5 feet of snow is just fine and dandy. We've shoveled out a place for him to go but after a few days he wanted no part of it. Other than that,this whole thing has reminded me of our years in Iowa where this was a fairly typical winter.I have been spending more money on birdfood than usual.

Coped? I've waited for a couple of days until it warms up. We had 60+ degree weather this weekend. The ice cream mand has begun his runs. Didn't wear a coat to church. Ducking and running quickly!!!!!!!!!!

Y'all stay warm and safe.

Dirty Dog, Rob!

KJ, you be careful on that roof, or get the grands to do it, they bounce better than we do. I just miss the snow so much that I added Urbandale Iowa to my favorite places on the weather underground just to see what I would be dealing with if I still lived there. Guess there are advantages to living here but I miss some things from there.

Calliope, hoping things will improve for you and your plants and critters. if things a re popping here they may not be too far behind there.

Don; This work is 'way too hard for kids!----and they're too pretty---I don't wanna see them get hurt :o)

--You'll be happy to know I finshed the last of the ice removal today---it was along the northern salt-box lower edge of the Potting Shed---about 35' long. Ice along the edge was MUCH thicker than along the house proper, due to heat hanging out up at the peak, which faces south.--Was finally able to get a toe-hold with the shovel at the far end. (Lengths averaged about 14"X20"X7') I'd shimmy the piece over the 3" high roof lip a little at a time, working the steel shovel underneath, and then stick the toe of my boot under to hold it in place as I moved the shovel forward along the length, to shimmy it just a little more, until finally, it'd kerplunk over the edge! Took a little over an hour, but I got it finished----last piece was a doozey---'waaay thicker.
After I got tree debris cleared, I retraced over across house to the back side, climbed down onto deck, went through the house, down and out through front kitchen door, and made it over to the intersection of house/potting shed. The planking underneath that last corner was hanging at a 45 degree angle from where it'd broken away from the lip---it'd been leaking there and my fooling around was too much----if I'd left it, I think the damage would've been even worse, the ice was so HEAVY!
Anyhow, it's done, it can rain all it wants to now; it's clear. Hope DSIL can help me patch that baby up at some point in time!!! Never ends......

Don; This work is 'way too hard for kids!----and they're too pretty---I don't wanna see them get hurt :o)

--You'll be happy to know I finshed the last of the ice removal today---it was along the northern salt-box lower edge of the Potting Shed---about 35' long. Ice along the edge was MUCH thicker than along the house proper, due to heat hanging out up at the peak, which faces south.--Was finally able to get a toe-hold with the shovel at the far end. (Lengths averaged about 14"X20"X7') I'd shimmy the piece over the 3" high roof lip a little at a time, working the steel shovel underneath, and then stick the toe of my boot under to hold it in place as I moved the shovel forward along the length, to shimmy it just a little more, until finally, it'd kerplunk over the edge! Took a little over an hour, but I got it finished----last piece was a doozey---'waaay thicker.
After I got tree debris cleared, I retraced over across house to the back side, climbed down onto deck, went through the house, down and out through front kitchen door, and made it over to the intersection of house/potting shed. The planking underneath that last corner was hanging at a 45 degree angle from where it'd broken away from the lip---it'd been leaking there and my fooling around was too much----if I'd left it, I think the damage would've been even worse, the ice was so HEAVY!
Anyhow, it's done, it can rain all it wants to now; it's clear. Hope DSIL can help me patch that baby up at some point in time!!! Never ends......

{{gwi:143725}}

We've started on a slow, gentle thaw. Today rain fell upon the layers of snow and ice, and there arose a fog over the valley looking like dry ice in a cheap stage production. Amazing

The large white lumps in the landscape are turning into statues and shrubs we haven't seen in a month, and God's creatures are venturing out of their cavities and burrows to look for a snack. Mr. Racoon is on the bird corn chair. He was in our window, before that......peering into my kitchen.