I kind of thought the snow would all be gone by the time I got back. Not even close. The driveway down to the cozy cabin is still buried in a foot of snow. Tomorrow I will go have a closer look.
More snow is diagnosed for tonight and then again mid-week. I think I'm gonna be needing me a real snow shovel for the rest of this winter.
In my short duration here it is unheard of for the snow to last for a solid week after it falls.
A test of endurance continues. The power went out again while I was gone. One of the PVC pipe plumbing vents on the roof of the resident gardeners house is bent at an angle of brokenness from the snow sliding off the roof. The icemaker water line leaked through the basement ceiling when I turned the well back on. I'm not sure if the furnace is behaving oddly or if I am being skittish as it warms a house that was 44 degrees upon my return. I left the thermostat at 55.
Crawford finally appeared two hours after dark. Collar came home shortly after I got home and called for them. I still have two kitties thank goodness. Those big foot prints with claws all around below the deck had me concerned. I bet the hounds were running the grounds again. The tracks were too big for a coyote and too small for a bear. Just right for a hound dog.
The partially melted snow has revealed one severely damaged juniper below the deck and I have not even checked the rest of the ridge top garden.
I should count my blessings though. The drive along I-40 between here and Asheville looked like a hurricane had gone through. The number of downed and damaged trees, mostly pines was astounding.
All those mangled trees out there and the half fallen Black Locust here is still hung up in the other tree and poised to crush the apple tree or anything else below it it at any time.
Is this how winter is really supposed to be?
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8 comments:
Some winters, yeah...
A couple of suggestions from some one who has been there, and soon to return...
Snow chains are a wonderful investment.
A well, with gravity flow water, the very best thing to keep the mistress from getting too cranky.
Don't rely on electricity or propane for your heat. They are both great systems, but when the world really goes to hell, pull out the old bow saw and throw some wood on the fireplace. (Hopefully an advanced fireplace with blower and all!)
Creative destruction, perhaps.
Do the cats sleep with you? That should be enough to keep you warm at night. Mine get under the covers with me and stay there half the night.
TanT I could put in a water storage tank to act as a gravity fed backup water supply. I have the slope and enough of a run for some good pressure. This is my third winter and the most intense so far. It is supposed to be the south down here. Still I can see the need for winter survival gear.
Chuck I have faith that nature will do just fine with the mess. It really looks like a major wind storm went through, but there was no wind just a lot of wet heavy snow. The kitties sleep on the bed with me a lot, but not under the covers. I sleep under a sheet and three layers of blankets and at times in my long underwear. They might smother or burn up under there.
Yeah, I agree some winters are worse than others. I've noticed that it runs kinda in patterns. Like every 10 yrs or so. Something like that.
Seems heat & water are the most vital. {Food maybe}. Of course people have lived off snow.
Sure glad things are ok with the kitties. I don't think they could survive under all that cover. Too hot--even tho they like it warm.
Chains would be a good investment.
Hopefully this is the worst of it. Beautiful photos even if the snow was a pain in the butt. Glad the kitties are okay.
Well, the best I can say is that you're learning all the things to do and not to do with the cozy cabin for winters! Glad you made it back safely. My poor brother visited us east least year and when he returned to Spokane,WA he had 6 FEET of snow on his drive; had to hire a bucket loader. And the neighbors had all told him the winters weren't that bad....maybe that's happened to you....
bev
The mountains are so different from the piedmont that I can't answer your question about a typical mountain winter, other than I used to know someone from Asheville who told me that the school year extended over much of the summer due to all of the snow days.
PS It's easy for me to say this from here, but the views must be worth some of the trouble you've had. They are beautiful.
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