This morning I woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland of fallen snow piled up on tree branches, walkways, and every other surface. Wet, heavy snow. It was around -4C (25F) all night long and it’s beginning to warm up to around zero degrees now. According to the news, we broke a 1967 snowfall record yesterday by accumulating 15 cms (6″) of snow. We got another 10 cms overnight. I know that doesn’t sound like much compared to my cousin Maureen on the Gaspe coast who went from grass to almost a meter (3 feet) of snow in a matter of a few days last week. The local news reported that in the city, some buses had an impossible time making it up inclined roads and got stuck, leaving customers waiting for an hour or more. Auto traffic home at rush hour seemed painfully slow; this morning as well. Late yesterday afternoon, it looked like a blizzard outside with high winds and heavy snow limiting visibility beyond a few hundred feet so that we couldn’t see beyond the trees at the beach. After supper, our lights dimmed and surprisingly, Melvin filled up the bathroom sink and a 5 gallon bucket with water in the bathtub just in case we needed water to flush the toilet if the power went out. Five minutes later it did. But the power came back on, then went off again several times while we tried to watch a movie.
Heavy snow on trees
Nice fluffy snow is one thing but this dense, heavy snow is another altogether. As it warms up, it’s already beginning to slide off my metal roof with an indignant thump. I don’t want to leave our poor dog outside too long as he whines by the window and door to come in – right where the snow will come crashing down.
Chickadee @ Suet Feeder
The wild birds are busy today at my bird feeders. One feeder filled with black-oil Sunflower seeds is full of chickadees and nuthatches while the other suet feeder with beef fat from the butcher is visited by downy woodpeckers. Bushes and trees are severely bent over with the weight of the heavy snow. When I opened the back door to empty my cold wood ashes into my metal collection bucket this morning, there was 28 cms (11″) of snow drifted against the door.
Backdoor snow drift
Now I’m wondering if the snowplow will come down our road today……. it’s a good thing I don’t have to go anywhere. But I prepared for this storm when I heard it was coming, by stocking up on extra milk and bread.
Feb 28, 2013 @ 10:52:18
Looks beautiful…!!!
Feb 28, 2013 @ 10:55:56
It does…..if only it wasn’t so bloody heavy to shovel!
Feb 28, 2013 @ 12:56:17
That’s alot of snow & so heavy on the trees, But it’s so pretty. . We get that at times too. Lots of snow piled up at your door. It’s been mild this week. ,Sunny days, Cloudy today & might get a bit of snow this weekend. But winter has been good here , Had cold snaps in Jan, but to be expected, It’s winter here in the Gaspe, Take care Linda, Keep those Blogs coming, I enjoy each & everyone of them. Love. cousin Maureen
Feb 28, 2013 @ 14:33:33
Yes, Maureen, it’s to be expected – we live in Canada!
Take care. Love you cuz.
Feb 28, 2013 @ 14:22:45
We drove to Russell yesterday in the blowing snow over unplowed roads (maybe the roads departments have exhausted their funds from all the times they sent the plows out for 2cm of snow) and then back this morning, since it wouldn’t have been safe to drive home – the worst conditions we’ve driven in since that time in 1975. A young friend says: “made it home okay, and only counted 5 cars in the ditch on Hwy 417. That was definitely the worst drive since 1975 and I wasn’t even born until 1978…I saw 5 flashes of lightning on the drive home, it scatters off the snowflakes and generally illuminates the sky. A very good indicator of a powerful snowstorm…the only other time i have seen this was from a powerful lake effect storm at Kingston.”. As we were going out, the snow at first stuck to the inner branches of the shrubs (Buckthorn) and then generally – today it was irregularly sliding or falling off the branches and roofs, and was plastered onto the east side of the trees and walls.
Feb 28, 2013 @ 14:39:29
You are brave souls driving in that weather yesterday!
The east side (back) of our house is covered in snow, too. I had to shovel the snow away from the back door twice.
Speaking of municipal Snowplows – it irks me when one comes down the road with NO snow, sparks-a-flying as the metal plow makes contact with the pavement……then they don’t show up when we have snow.
Feb 28, 2013 @ 19:03:55
that wet snow is a different kettle of fish isn’t it.. snow just does not cover all the different variations.. still it is good for the land to get all that moisture .. after last year i welcome all precipitation. loved the birds at your feeder! c
Mar 01, 2013 @ 09:09:00
Yes Celi, last year we has such little snowfall followed by a record drought and it was terrible. Water levels were SO low and many crops failed.
So at least this spring, we’ll be starting out with topped-up waterways.
Feb 28, 2013 @ 20:21:57
wow its picture perfect
Mar 01, 2013 @ 09:09:49
Thanks Oldschool – by late afternoon, all the snow had fallen off the trees
Feb 28, 2013 @ 23:48:31
Clearing this dump of snow is like trying to shift concrete, isn’t it! We choose (strangely, I know!) to clear our drive manually, and were so thrilled when the plow came by today and the driver ever so kindly swooped in to clear right up to our mailbox. He made our job just that bit easier, and honked at our youngest, who was enthusiastically waving. Your pictures are super and show just what it’s like. When we went snowshoeing through our woods with our dog today, we could hardly get through in places, the snow is so ridiculously heavy!
Mar 01, 2013 @ 09:12:07
Wasn’t that nice of that plow driver! My neighbour also swooshed the end of my driveway of that heavy mound the municipal snowplow left.
Even for large dogs, this snow is difficult to navigate in!