Snowmegeddon

That's what they're calling it. Here's a brief history.

We had measureable snow in November. We had about 2 feet just before Christmas. January was relatively peaceful.

Then came February.

We had only a few inches on Feb. 2, but it was cold and stuck around. On February 5, the second snow of 2010

hit. The first flurries showed up late afternoon. It didn't lo

ok like much when I went to bed that night. Maybe a few inches. Then during the night, the real snowfall came. When I awoke at 7:30 a.m. we had this:

And it kept coming all that day.

This one on the left is a picture of my back deck, taken though the glass doors.

Those two lumps are my garbage can and my table. As you can see by the drops on the glass, it was still coming down when I took this picture. That's why it looks so hazy; it's viewed through the snowfall. Measurements vary by area, but I think we had something like 28" when it was done.

The next day everyone started digging out. The day after that I was able to get out of my neighborhood and fill up my gas tank and make a grocery run. The bread aisle was decidedly picked over, but there was bread. Of course, I got there early, hardly anyone in the store. But the parking lot was plowed. All of this was good because ...

We got more. Can you find the trash can now?

The guys manning the road plows worked like dogs, they really did. But even so there were many areas that hadn't been plowed before the second snow hit. And thousands of people in my county have been without power for days. Families moved into hotels or just shifted to a friend or family member's home. Trucks got stuck in the snow. The plows and tow trucks sent to get them out got stuck. And although it only dumped a measly 10"-20" inches more on the area (about 14" in my neighborhood) this second storm came with very high winds. The plows had tried to forge on, but eventually they were called back because the drivers simply couldn't see. And it kept on coming until about 7 p.m. last night.

I was out around 4:30 p.m. trying to make a start on clearing my sidewalk and car. I have this power shovel that was a gift a few years ago and it really came in handy. Not much good on the first snow, just way too deep; but handy for this second snow. Also, getting an early start helped a lot. Then I went out and finished up this morning. The sky is blue and the sun is shining, so getting the worst of it done early meant the sun could melt whatever I couldn't get scraped up. Here are some more photos.

Skiing, anyone? Below is not my house. I couldn't get a good picture of my roof because of a tree, but I've got a similar ice situation. I've been swinging a garden rake in the general direction of the gutters, trying to keep the icicles to a minimum.

Yes, that's my car. I'm rather proud of the job I did, getting it dug out.

This photo, below, is where a bobcat (is that what they're called?) piled snow around a tree. We've run out of places to put it.

And my sidewalk. That's the power shovel leaning against the front door. As you can see, I left scrapings, but the sun has already cleared most of that up.

Plus I used a wee bit of my salt stash wherever the patches looked especially nasty. Also around my tires. If you ever see bags of salt in the store, get yourself one. Never mind that you don't expect snow. It won't go bad, and you'll thank me for it eventually.