Winter is Back

I have been saying this has been a wacky, weird winter.  It seems like it has been mild in lots of places.  Just when I had decided it would be OK to skip winter all together, here it is!  With all of this snow, we are even on the national news!

When I got up a little before 7:00 a.m. it looked like this:

When I looked out around 8:30, I took some more photos, from the front and back doors.  I did not venture out.

I included this photo because I think it's the only one with the evergreen trees across the street.  They always look so pretty in the snow.  The lump is our grill.
 

I don't show the back yard very often.  The small area behind the picket fence is where I grow the herbs I use for cooking.  I also grow some in pots near the back door.

It is supposed to snow most of the day.  If it snows as much as it already has, we will be getting more than was predicted.

I got some more photos taken around 5:00 p.m.  Our next door neighbor to the north knocked on our back door while we were eating to let us know our car port was starting to come down due to the weight of the snow.  (At the 10:00 news, they said we got 11 inches.)

The piles of snow were deeper this afternoon. I like how the variety of objects in the yard look with snow caps on.

Shortly after I went in, I saw the rabbit (or one of them) that lives here out here on the sidewalk.  It stayed there until I opened the door, and it went in its "door" under the deck, which is to the right of  the herb garden, where it must have a nest. 

Here is our poor tipped carport.  Larry's heated bird bath is in front of the garage.

The photos here are in the order I took them, so here is the vegetable garden.

Heidi and I went to the front to take photos for my header and background.

She did well in the deep snow.  I walked in the tracks in the street.

I feel kind of bad for leaving this bike out for the winter.  I probably should have stored it, but when I got it, I knew it was not in good enough condition to be ridden.  I hope it holds up OK.

I took a number of photos for insurance purposes.  Larry contacted our homeowners' insurance, and they will be sending an appraiser.  I hope we will be able to replace the carport with one that will be sturdier or better designed/built to withstand the snow.  Larry and I tried to get the long snow rake dealy, whatever it is called, down to get some of the snow off of the carport, but it was wedged between where the carport was coming down, and the blue tarp.  I don't remember what is under the tarp, but that is what was keeping it from coming down further. 

I saw a couple guys outside two houses down, and walked over to ask one of them to help us get the rake/shovel out.  It was the neighbors' brother who came over and said we need to prop it with something.  He cut these beams, or whatever they are called, to the correct height.  I gave him a little cash, because it was so nice to have his help.  I felt bad, too, because he had cut his finger earlier in the day, and still went out and shoveled driveways and sidewalks all day.  (That's Larry finishing up.)

Well, I'm glad I got some lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, and radishes planted Thursday.  I had already planted several kinds of lettuce on January 5th, earlier than ever, because the soil was not frozen.   I always like to plant some seeds early.  I've mentioned I call it my "gamble garden".  I am not a gambler in other ways.  Really, this isn't much of one anyway, as my rate of getting a crop has been virtually 100%.  The seeds wait for the soil to be warm enough, and once up, they seem to be able to withstand temps into the 20s, and even snow.  Once in awhile some of the seeds don't come up, but that happens even in April or May.  I was a little worried about the January seeds coming up too early, because of how warm it continued to be.  Now, they have a nice blanket of snow, and when it melts, they will have some nice moisture to help them germinate.  I don't think I've planted peas this early before, though, so I'm not sure how well they will do.  I should mention that the main reason I do this, is that the soil is frequently too wet to plant things once spring gets here.  This way, there are some in, and I can be patient to wait for the soil to be dry enough to plant more.

We are getting closer to spring, and I am looking forward to it.