Having visions of Fimbulvetr

Looking out the window this morning all I can think is "Christ on crutch, is it ever going to stop snowing?" I'm feeling like we're trapped in a fantasy/horror story I once read about a person who ends mentally stuck inside a snow globe forever. In terms of total inches, it's not actually that bad yet -- our record snow total is about 430 inches for one winter and we're only up to around 150 -- but it has gotten to the point where it's causing problems for us. The S.O. is running out space to shove it out of the way with the plow truck. The driveway is getting narrower and narrower -- I want to order something online but can't because I know perfectly well that at the moment if the UPS truck came in here he wouldn't be able to turn around to get out again. The snowbanks are creeping too far in, and the turnaround has definitely shrunk.

We should order another cord of firewood, but it's the same deal. If the guy we bought the last cord from came in now with his dump trailer, he'd have a horrible time trying to get turned around to get out again. Backing out from our place is not an option when it would require reversing for about 800 feet and negotiating a couple of curves. Not dramatic curves, granted, but still not fun to do when the snowbanks are closing in and if you're off by just a couple inches you're going to get stuck. (We're not going to freeze if we don't have wood delivered. We do have a propane furnace as a back-up, but don't like using it.)

The thing that kind of worries me is this is only the middle of February. What's going to happen in March? March is when we get the spring storms where snowfall gets measured in feet, not inches, and the stuff that falls tend to be slush instead of fluff. Maybe I should be stocking the freezer and prepping for us being basically snowed in for awhile. I know that between the use of the plow truck, an ATV with a plow on it, a snow thrower, and the Yooper scooper we will always be able to get our driveway open eventually, but we could end up with multiple days where it's not possible to get into town. 

I am really missing the county road commission this winter. They stopped doing private driveways a few years ago, but this is the first winter where not having that grader come in occasionally is actually an issue.

Photo is of the S.O. plowing a couple weeks ago. We've gotten a lot more snow since then.

April 22

I really hope this is my last driveway plowing photo until next fall.

Minor annoyances

This weather app is beginning to annoy me.

That's today's weather. It was also yesterday's weather. And the day before that. Tomorrow is always looking good, partly cloudy, warmish, and with truly spring-like temperatures promised for about 72 hours away. When I looked at the forecast this past Friday, it showed the current day as rather crappy (freezing drizzle), but Saturday was going to be good. Pshaw! Saturday arrived, and suddenly it had the same icon that Friday had boasted: the branches with the ice hanging from them. But, hey, Sunday was going to be good.

Sunday got here, and there it was again: the depressing branches with the icicles. But Monday. . . Monday was going to be warm and sunny. Well, it's Monday. The icicles are back, the skies are overcast, and it's not exactly beach temperatures outside.Tuesday, on the other hand, is going to be not bad and by Thursday it'll be time to break out the sunblock.

And pigs will fly.

Update:

At least it's no longer claiming the good weather will hit tomorrow -- it's now shoving it 48 hours into the future.