At Least It's Pretty

Okay, so the weather messed up our plans. But take a look at the view from our table at the restaurant.

Snow Boots and Jammie Pants

We're expecting an ice storm tonight.  The temps have warmed up just enough to cause our snow pack to melt, so we already have ice issues.  Our roof was still buried under most of the sixteen plus inches of snow we got before Christmas, so I asked Walker to get the roof rake down and clear some of it off.  Freezing rain on top of a mound of wet snow is a recipe for roof failure.  We had to get it taken care of.

Well, Walker kind of forgot.  He has family in town for the holidays, and he made plans to take Diva bowling with them.  By the time they get home it will be dark, and most likely raining.  The roof rake is stored in the rafters, where I can't reach it even with the ladder. Walker does that on purpose, so I can't try to tackle the heavy stuff when he's not home.  Unfortunately for him, I don't give up easily when something needs to be done.  Did you know that a soft bristled broom makes an excellent tool for lifting the pieces of a roof rake out of their cubby in the rafters?  The bristles will grab and hold those pieces like they were made for the job.  Guess I showed him.*grin*

So I got the thing together, all 18 feet of it. In the beginning, I raked that darn roof pretty well, too, I have to say.  The snow was absolutely soggy and heavy as hell, which wasn't a problem until I had to clean up the mess in the driveway.  It was literally up to my waist and weighed about as much as a baby elephant.  A chubby baby elephant.   On the back side of the house, the snow isn't shoveled. There's no sidewalk so really, no need.  Or so I thought.  I was still wearing my fuzzy jammy pants and in about four seconds they were soaked to the knees.  The real problem back there though, is this:

 

This, my friends, is an ice dam.  A good four inches of ice that built up when the snow melted, ran into the gutters, and froze there.  It doesn't look as menacing in the photo as it does in real life, but if it doesn't melt off it can lift the shingles right off the roof.  Then you've got leaks and water damage and maybe mold come spring and really, who needs that?  The problem is, there is not much that can be done except to watch it and keep the snow away from it.  There are chemicals, but they don't work well. Hopefully the warmer temps and my raking efforts will put and end to the ice dam in a couple days. 

The last side of the house is too high for me to get at, even with a 15 foot reach on the rake.  Walker will need to get the ladder out to take care of that tomorrow if it isn't raining.  Right now, I have dinner in the oven and I need to get ready for work.  The days just go too quickly.

Janine, This One's for You!

My friend Janine was feeling nostalgic for snow after her move to a more temperate climate.  I can understand that.  Snow is so pretty and it puts one in the Christmas spirit.  Sometimes.  Other times, like today, snow is scary and messy and exhausting.  Well, it's exhausting if you're Walker and you have to shovel.  If you're me, snow provides an excuse to stay in your jammies and make candy with your niece.  Anyway: here are some photos I was able to take without actually going outside. 



This one shows our patio door, from the inside.  Last night, we got snow followed by freezing rain followed by more snow.  Then the wind kicked up, creating whiteout conditions.  The result of all this weather is snow covering pretty much everything.

Then I opened the inside of the patio door.  Snow was piled between the screen and the glass, and the screen was frozen shut.  No photos of the patio - the camera just picks up the screen.










Then I went out to the garage. Here's what I saw when I opened the garage door.

This one shows a big mound of snow on the roof - right over our front step.  Hopefully it won't cut loose when someone is ringing our doorbell.  You have to clean your roof with a snow rake when it gets like this, but with the high winds, it ain't gonna happen right now.  If we tried, all that snow would blow down right on us.  It's not just messy, it's heavy from the rain we got between the snow falls.

 

So far, we've gotten 7 to 10 inches of snow, with more to come.  The  temp is about 25* with winds up to 40 mph and a wind chill of -5*.  It's still pretty, but I'm not going outside in it until it quits blowing around.  Janine, hopefully this will make you miss your snow just a little less.  If not, well, you can always come visit!

Snowstorm

The snow started yesterday.  Walker and I were driving home from the cancer center when the sky began spitting the first flakes.  Rumor had it we were due for a big snow dump, but we've been dodging weather for months now so neither of us gave it much thought.
By the time I left work this morning, the snow had been falling, light but steady, for about ten hours.  The roads were a mess.  The landscape, however, was gorgeous.  It looked like a Christmas scene.  This time of year, before shoveling gets old, before I get tired of dressing in layer after layer just to run an errand, I love the snow.