That is a beautiful picture, I think she is really praying for Spring! It was 60 + degrees here today, I worked in the yard. I do not miss the Winters up North, I hope it ends for everyone there soon.
Jay

I'm just grateful to be retired----I can just enjoy the beauty without the dangers of driving but I do feel sorry for the folks who have to get to work in this mess----
Love the picture---poor angel looks so cold----

I took this picture a couple of years ago and it was posted in our newspaper
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Florence

What's snow?

I think we might get some rain tomorrow for the first time in a few weeks.

Bummer.

Quit complaining. Nothing you can do about it so why get excited? Spring comes every year and when it does you'll appreciate it more.
Get used to it. Forecasters say this is what to expect in the future as our weather patterns change.

Those are great pics! I sure hope we don't get any more snow. I was complaining to a friend in New Orleans and he told me, 'That's what you get for living north of I-10, LOL.

Yesterday I worked in the yard for two hours. A first for January. And this morning there is snow on the ground:) But that's winter in the mountains. Spring will be here soon enough.

Kate

Karl,
I'm getting old and retiring soon. My goal is to become a cranky old man and a full-time curmudgeon. I feel I have a right to complain about just about anything, just to hear myself talk.

Not everyone ends up as sweet as Florence.

Truth is, I liked the picture and needed an excuse to post it.

We got so much snow that I made a snow rake. I cut the rack out of an obsolete plastic recycle bin. Then I attached it to a fiberglass painters pole with the threaded plastic piece from a broken broom and a block of wood. Now my wife doesn't have to worry about the weight on the roof.

I'm 73 and retired 13 years ago. I had that choice but, even though I may come over as a cranky old man and a full-time curmudgeon, I don't mean to. Lifes to short anyway and as one gets older there's not much life left to be thought of as a cranky old man and a full-time curmudgeon. That's not how I hope to leave others thinking of me!
We're looking at a big one during the next few days. I'll make sure I have food and a full gas tank, then hunker down and wait for the rose buds in my greenhouse to begin to swell. I'm only 5 weeks from pruning those I overwintered in there. Then I can begin to repot my 250 cuttings in the coldframe. By planning ahead it takes the edge off of winter.

Until I needed a snow rake I didn't realize that lots of poles have the same threaded connection--roughly 0.72" by 5tpi. We also threaded a sweep broom onto the painters pole, but that didn't work as well on old snow as the snow rake.

Karl,
I did not mean to insinuate that you come across cranky. I'm just poking fun at myself as I contemplate a major change in life. With all that additional time, what might I become?

I know what you're all thinking. Too late. I'm already an @$$#*:

Dream until spring.

Hey you two! Love the banter as I am bored to death stuck in the house!! I thought the picture of the angel in the snow was so sweet. Thanks for posting it and thanks to you both for all the valuable information you share with all of us. I miss my garden and roses so much, but spring will come and then we will all be happy happy little dirt diggers! Lesley

Harry,
I didn't mean to make you think I thought you were insinuating that I was old and cranky. I was just trying to show you that being retired and old doesn't mean one should go the old cranky route.
We have a choice. I prefer the old good natured way and think it would make you happier than being a cranky old man and a full-time curmudgeon.

Again, I'm sometimes a little short when I reply to others and I know I may come across as cranky. This is my own observation especially when I reread some of my replies.
Those who know me, know better.
Realizing we can't do anything about the weather and accepting it is one step to
"Don't worry, be happy."

Hey, guys, can I join your club?? I'm hitting 70, my last day at work is Feb. 11 and boy, am I ready!

Having lived in both Montana and Michigan I can relate to your cold and snow - now that I am in Texas, wouldn't live anywhere else! But - it was in the mid 70's on Saturday, a perfect day for golf, and Tues morning we're 'sposed to get ice pellets, wind chill down to 0, ice, snow, etc. just in time for Super Bowl. But, who knows, by then it could be back up there!

I LOVE being this age, we can do whatever we want, right?

Best wishes to you both,

ogrose

Harry----I collect Angels so the picture has a special meaning to me----
Thanks for saying I'm sweet---LOL---maybe you should talk to my DH---LOL every once in a while I "blow my top" and scare everybody---LOL
I'm now 81 ---I think I'm older than everyone--Where have the years gone ?

Florence

I'm delighted for the wonderful insulation for the roses, but otherwise?

MORE than enough, especially given that lots of state & local governments were already under a lot of financial strain.

I will not complain about the weather today because it is my excuse to take the day off......oops, I mean work from home. Since I am retiring next month and commute 65 miles each way, they are pretty lenient with me.

Honestly, I enjoy winter. Normally, winter in E. PA comes in spurts. Every week or so we get a warm spell. Snow melts back and Harry gets to go outdoors and get a few garden chores completed. This year has been continuously cold and windy. The snow just keeps piling up. It makes me a bit cranky.

I promise to find a way to enjoy the snow, freezing rain and sleet we will endure for the next two days.

I went shopping yesterday, larders stocked, and as long as the power doesn't fail, I'm all set to hunker down inside until the blizzard ends Wednesday afternoon. We're forecast to get up to two feet of snow, not only from the storm but also due to lake effect.

I for one am thankful for the snow. I do hate ice. My roses and other plants are sure delighting in all the snow! :) Pile it up until spring comes I say. I just hate shoveling it though.

Harry, congratulations on retirement! I celebrated my 4 years of freedom this past November and I adore retirement! No more annual evaluations...pure bliss. My only 'boss' are my kitties who continually demand their daily treats of whipped cream and kittie treats.

Well, the 2011 SNOWPOCALYSE arrived around noon Tuesday with a vengeance. We have had Thundersnow, 56mph wind gusts, and are expected to receive up to 20" of snow by the time it ends Wednesday around noon. Then the frigid air rushes in, with -9F Wed. night. Our Governor declared our state a disaster area, and most counties have closed down and can't even provide emergency assistance if people traveling on the roads become stuck. The winds are howling like something fierce, but thank goodness the ice stopped short of us about 75 miles to the South and we haven't lost power yet. It's something to be thankful for.
-terry (hunkered down in Peoria, IL)

We have had a record breaking snow, and it is moving towards many of you. I think my sister in Indiana is being hit hard.

We had 14 inches in one day in Tulsa, OK. That is huge for us. I don't like winter, and do not like to be cold.

We are using up snow days from my school, and may end up extending the days into summer. There are projects at home I could start, but each one comes back to the weather, and I am afraid to do it.

It has been a chore to keep the snow away from the doggie door. We cannot close the screen door to keep out the wind or we will have to walk around the house to be able to shovel the snow away so that we can go out that door.

Our city is not built for this weather.
Harry and Karl, I fully enjoy your posts.

Sammy

After shoveling a foot and half of snow from my driveway, I can't wait for spring to get here. I don't think my arms and back can take anymore of this.

Harry, after getting slammed with snow again this morning, I have a bad feeling your little angel was praying for snow! Tell her to cut it out!! We had a groundhog in Michigan but he didn't see his shadow today - I heard he froze to death.

In the face of a large snowstorm that dumped a lot of snow in the KC and surrounding areas, I did manage to make sure that the ones who had to brave the storm had something to eat. They ate through the whole storm. I had to fill the feeder twice. The snow was so fine that it doesn't show on my picture, but it snowed all day.

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While we are recovering from shoveling, scraping, and whatever else from the storm, we need to remember the birds also.

Thanks for the snow pictures. All we get is wind and more wind. The poor new foligae on my roses! I had to take the tangerines off the tree for fear the branches would tear. I would love to have a little snow but my poor citrus trees are saying NO WAY to that idea. Ah well, the camellias, daffodils and pansies are blooming and the peach tree is showing off as well. I don't really get a winter here so thanks for sharing yours with me.

Wind, rain and gray on the west coast. Can we have some of your snow to change it up a bit? One sad sight with all this rain is the reappearance of those blue (some white) taups drapping the remainder of the yet to be repaired leaky condos in Vancouver.

We lost power for over 24 hours--Bucks County was hit hard-

My son and grandson plowed our driveway and walkways----

-DH has a generator and we have a good wood-burning stove so we were warm and cozy and had plenty of food

Thank goodness I am retired so I don't have to drive anywhere---

Harry --congratulations on your retirement-----I'm sure you will love it----

Florence

Small town Iowa:
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Now this is what you call TOO, TOO , TOO MUCH SNOW !!
These pictures were taken in Lead, South Dakota, on January 5, 2011.
after seeing these do we really have all that much to complain about?
I suspect this is a normal winter for them!
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Karl,

I doubt that Lead looks that way annually, does it? Where did you get those? They are incredible.

They might. They get lots of snow each winter and resulting flooding each spring.
Would you believe I took them??
Me neither, a friend e-mailed them to me.

Karl, you have a well-developed sense of humor. Thanks. ("Would you believe I took them??") Why in heck, and who in heck, would you be in Lead S.D. in the winter?

I have only been to Lead in the summer. It is near no body of water. And for this reason I find this so hard to believe that they get snow like this on any regular basis. This looks more like what we might see in the U.P. My sister lived there for 2-3 years 25 years ago and they would get well over 200 inches of snow per year. I have seen pics of snow to the top of her ranch style house. I have no idea how they move it out up there, or where they put it. Must have short driveways. :>)

I think our record snowfall for the entire winter about 4 years ago here in NE Iowa is only between 5 and 6 feet. We have had a lot this year, but have seen no articles about approaching the record.

Do we have any posters from the U.P. who could share?

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the U.P.?

Upper Peninsula in Michigan? Just a guess.

Here in mid-Sweden we have had quite enough snow. Today we had to shovel not only our yard but our daughter's as well. She and her children are on winter holiday in Ethiopia for two weeks and her house has to look inhabited.

Yes, the U.P. is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

It has the highest concentration of Finnish people outside Finland.

Per Wikipedia: "The Great Lakes have a great effect on most of the peninsula. Winters tend to be long, cold, and snowy for most of the peninsula, and because of its northern latitude, the daylight hours are short, around 8 hours between sunrise and sunset in the winter. Lake Superior has the greatest effect on the area, especially the northern and western parts. Many areas get in excess of 100-250 inches (250-630 cm) of snow per year, especially in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Baraga, Marquette and Alger counties, where Lake Superior contributes to lake-effect snow, making them a prominent part of the midwestern snow belt.
Records of 390 inches (990 cm) of snow or more have been set in many communities in this area.[20] The Keweenaw Peninsula averages more snowfall than almost anywhere in the United States, more than anywhere east of the Mississippi River and the most of all non-mountainous regions of the continental United States.[21] Because of the howling storms across Lake Superior, which cause dramatic amounts of precipitation, it has been said that the lake-effect snow makes the Keweenaw Peninsula the snowiest place east of the Rockies. Herman, Michigan, averages 236 inches (600 cm) of snow every year.[22] Lake-effect snow can cause blinding whiteouts in just minutes, and some storms can last days."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan

I believe the Finns settled in the U.P. because it reminded them of their home country. These are the original snowbirds but they didn't seek out warmer environs, and instead sought out the same old white stuff.

We call their people, Yoopers. I think maybe Michigan was given the U.P. in exchange for giving up a claim to part of Ohio as the result of a past war between the two states actually occurring prior to the onset of college football's Michigan - Ohio St. rivalry.

Now how does a Swede have so much knowledge of knowledge of U.S. geography?

Here is a link that might be useful: Toledo War

This was the first week in the last 6 that we had no additional snow in northern NJ. There is still 1-2 feet of snow on my front lawn.

Mark, I think most Swedes of my generation (I'm 66) have a fairly good knowledge of geography from elementary school. If this had been an Indian forum I would have guessed UP to stand for Uttar Pradesh, a province in central India!

I am sorry to say that geography is no longer important in Swedish schools, it's probably considered one of the things best left to Wikipedia.

Weird thing about it to me is not that my geography is bad - it's actually very good - but how you automatically be able to translate U.P. = upper peninsula of Michigan. I've never heard that abbreviation in my life out here in California. For a European to guess that - well, kudos!

Marianne,

I enjoyed geography as well.

Insofar as this is a snow thread, how about telling us about the extent of snow for your area?

Even the most southern part of Sweeden is well north of Northeast Iowa. You claim Zone 5b as contrasted with our Zone 4b, and I understand that could be the result of the warm currents from the Gulf possibly? Do you know whether Sweeden use a map with identical codes for gardening climate that our USDA zone map uses, or are you estimating your zone?

We vacationed through the U.P. this past summer (went to Mackinac Island; and went to the shipwreck museum where they have the Edmund Fitzgerald bell. I have been to the U.P. about 5x in my lifetime.

The Yoopers have a dish up there local to the U.P. called a pasty. I ordered one at a mom and pop cafe that was not too good. My wife had one at a restaurant on Mackinac Island that was not too bad. It is a Finnish dish with something like pie crust that encases rutabaga, potatoes (harsh climate vegetables, hamburger, and probably a few other things). Are you acquainted with the pasty? I see Wikipedia attributes the pasty to the U.K., which is surprising me.

dimitrig, I am beginning to question where I picked up the meaning of UP! It could not have been in elementary school because of course we learnt many place names in Swedish. I remember now that Lake Superior was Oevre Sjoen (Upper Lake) in school so at first I didn't connect when I heard the English for it. I may have read about UP in a newspaper when I spent 6 months in Madison, WI, in 1981.

Pasties are Cornish and not known in Sweden at all. I've tried them once in England under the name Cornish pasty and will not order any again, too bland. The Finns have a similar pasty, Karjalan piirakka, an open rye dough pie stuffed with boiled rice, and eaten with egg butter (soft butter with chopped hardboiled eggs and dill leaves). Salmon may be added to the rice for a de luxe version.

Climate zones in the US and northern Europe are not comparable but I put my zone at 5b after the lowest average minimum winter temperature. We have our own zone chart with 8 zones but it is concerned only with tree hardiness and was originally made for apple growers. The Gulf stream affects the climate in the whole of Scandinavia, most of all in Norway, of course.

The most important difference is that summers in northern Europe are much shorter and cooler than in continental USA, mainly because you have your long wonderful autumns and summer heat. Some roses don't grow well enough in summer and succumb easier when struck by cold in the fall. Our winters are not quite as cold as in Wisconsin and southern Ontario, the only areas in North America where I've spent winters.

I live exactly on the 59th parallel, 50 miles from the Baltic coast. No sea influence but we have a fairly large lake in the village that makes some difference in the fall. Last night was the coldest yet this winter, -26C and it will be as cold again on Friday. Now, at 2 pm it is -11C, bearable but still too cold for me who don't have to venture outside. It's great to be retired!

The garden is completely covered in snow, only trees and taller shrubs and ornamental grasses are visible. We had a thaw recently so it's difficult to estimate the depth of the snow cover but I guess about a foot, more in shade where the old snow still stays, less in areas protected from the wind by trees. I've just looked out of all the windows of the house and noticed that Sutter's Gold is dangerously exposed. Perhaps I should shovel some snow over it. I guess I will have to cut a lot come spring.

I hope this gives you an idea of our climate?

Marianne in Sweden

Here is a link that might be useful: Karelian pies

Karl was right!

Its gonna be 45 today. About 55 tomorrow and maybe 60 on Friday. Coincidentally, I'm taking Friday off.

With only 6 weeks to retirement, I have to deal with all those pesky accumulated vacation and personal days.

Harry,
When I retired, it took a few weeks to get the "wake up and go to work" habit out of my system. Finally, one day I woke up realizing I didn't have to go to work anymore. After that I was able to relax and better enjoy retirement. Now, after 13 years, I've really adjusted to it.
Good luck with your retirement.

I offer hope:

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