Snow, snow, and more snow

I think this storm was our largest single event snow total since we've been here. It's hard to measure exactly, but we got close to two feet in a 24-hour period. It was hovering around 33F, so I knew the snow would be heavy. It started in middle of the night Monday. When I woke up on Tuesday, it was really coming down. I went out to do my first plow run and my poor half ton pick-up had to work pretty darn hard!

And, of course, I had to check on the critters. You can see the yak were taking it in stride in the video above. I love how you can see just how well their coat insulates them. The snow just builds up on them but doesn't really melt. They just shake it off occasionally. The elk, who are also made for this kind of weather, were doing just fine and looking rather regal in the snow.

We recently got solar panels installed. Overall, it was a great decision given just how freakishly high our electric rates are, but there is a downside. No one mentioned how that meant I would be doomed to spend the rest of my life shoveling off this little balcony to be sure if doesn't collapse from the weight. The fun thing about taking a before and after photo is that you know how long it takes you to do something. Nine minutes. I guess there's a reason I was huffing and puffing. 

And I may have cried a bit when I looked out only fifteen minutes later to see this. Yup. I shoveled that balcony more than once yesterday!

Later in the day, I happened to look out a window I hadn't looked out previously and saw this. Ugh! I didn't realize that we had suddenly reached critical mass, so I ran out and rescued these rose-of-sharon, along with my lilacs, rhododendron, and a few others I don't know the names for. Lots of broken branches. Boo.

Last night around 7 o'clock, I went out for one last plow. All told, I plowed three separate times yesterday and used almost half a tank of gas in my truck. I'm going to guess those three sessions probably totaled four hours of time. So, between that and my shoveling, I really did do almost nothing but snow removal yesterday! No wonder I'm tired!

This morning though, the snow finally was done and the sun was trying to peek out. I had to hay the yak, which was a bit of a challenge. For the first time, I felt the need to clear the snow before bringing the bale in, lest I get stuck. And I struggled to get this gate open. After cussing it out a bit, wondering why it didn't open out, I suddenly realized it could open out, if I wanted it to. Right! Note to self: when expecting the next big snow, rearrange this gate to open out. Your back will thank you!

The nice thing about mid-March storms is that the days get warm enough to really help clear the driveways and roads. I love winter. I love snow, and I was pretty disappointed with this winter up until about a month ago. Ummm. I'm good now. I've had my fill. I'm ready for spring now!!