What a weird winter we have had in Maine this year. We typically get several snowstorms in the winter, with snowfall amounts ranging from a few inches to a foot or more. That is a typical winter in Maine. This year, however, we have had a strange winter by New England standards.
We got our first snowfall right after Christmas, and it was a doozy. We got 27 inches here in the so-called foothills of Western Maine. Lots of tractor snow-moving and truck-plowing to get all the chores done. My daughter runs a large animal rescue and usually has 12 to 15 horses, donkeys, and mules. We also have alpacas and a pot-bellied pig, along with many laying hens. With that much snowfall, we needed to clean out all our gates, shovel the stall ramps, and even clean spots in the pastures for the horses to get their round bale delivery. Then, of course, we had the house and house-barn shoveling that includes all the doors and barn entryway. After all was cleaned up here, my sons went next door and started all over again at my parents’ house. Ahh … it’s great to be young! Rather, it’s great to have young sons!
After that big storm, we slipped into January and, except for a couple small snowfalls of an inch or three, we had a quiet month. Truthfully, our January thaw — which usually lasts a week or so — ended up going on for almost three weeks. Above-normal temperatures and much melting had the snow almost gone, with many bare spots showing in the fields.
Then came … the week that was …
On February 7th, we got our first storm — which got the kids an early release from school — and our first 6 inches of snow. There was no school on the 8th because the snow had ended by turning to an icy coating.
The 9th started out clear, but there was already a no school announcement as the next storm was rolling in and started at around 8 a.m. It snowed hard all day and ended up giving us another 11 inches on top of the 6 we just got.
On the 11th, it started again. A “Yankee Clipper” came through and dropped another 8 inches of snow. By now we are used to it and managed to get all the chores done without too much trouble. My daughter had a chance to shake off the horse’s blankets and change out the wet ones for nice, dry ones.
A brief break overnight, and then the “the big one” was on our doorstep. According to weathermen, we were supposed to get 20 or so inches of snow. February 12th dawned gray, per usual, and by mid afternoon it had started. Lots of accidents and crashes as the banks got so high it was hard to see into the road until you pulled your car way out.
The morning of the 13th dawned snowy and windy, with most of the lower part of the state shut down. It snowed all day, and we ended up with over 20 fresh inches of the fluffy white stuff that I personally love at Christmas, but have no use for the rest of the year. Much shoveling and clearing later, and we were hopefully done!
February 14th was a blue sky and a lovely, warm Valentine’s Day. Melting ensued, but what was that I heard? You guessed it, another storm for tomorrow.
I woke up on the 15th, and it was snowing hard. The kids had school, as the district was trying hard to make it so the kids didn’t have school into July. It snowed hard all day, but they managed to get in a half-day so they won”t have to make that day up. By later afternoon, it was a full-on snowstorm. We had to do some necessary traveling in the afternoon, and by the time we came home it was terrible. The roads weren’t plowed, the visibility was zero, and it was a long, hard drive home.
The 16th dawned cloudy, with a few more snow flurries but another 16 inches of fresh snow. I am 54 and don’t remember snow banks as high as they were at the end of that week. We went from bare spots to 10-foot banks, having received over 50 inches of snow in just over a week’s time.
So, here it’s March 12th, and we have just had a great period of nice weather. Oh sure, the last couple days had wind chill of 30 below zero, but hey — no snow to speak of since the 16th.
Spring is in the air! Horses have started shedding, the snow has settled back to allow bare spots in the field, and they say we are going to have warmer temperatures next week. I bet the grass is going to start turning green where we can see the ground. I am even pleased to see the mud in the driveway. Yep, I think flowers are just around the corner …
Wait, what? A snowstorm, you say? A genuine nor’easter, you say? We are in the 20-inch zone, they are telling us? Great. Kids, polish up those snow shovels, drag out those snow pants, and get the gloves at the ready. Winter of ’17 isn’t done with us yet, I guess.
Boys, how do you feel about school … in July?
Photo by By Ximeg (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
