Snowpocolypas Saturday

Saturday, March 9, 2019
My Seize the Day Calendar said it all.

True friends have overcome communication and weather obstacles to support me during the past couple of weeks.

Yes I still have snow. This is the pile in front of the kennel. The kennel roof is 8' high.

My drive was an icy, rutted mess. The snow pack had decreased enough that I though I could get the road grader out of the barn and perhaps make the road more passable.

Matt, a better grader driver and "true friend" came by to help me. The tractor with the grader barely made it out of the barn but his persistence paid off. The ruts on the road were still too hard pack for the grader to knock them down so he had to resort to Plan B: the bucket first...

with the grader dragging behind technique.

I went ahead and dug out all the branches that had become buried in the road and would catch on the grader tines.

When I got back to where Matt was working, I found the tractor had hopelessly slid off to the side of the road in the very same spot Big Red landed and got stuck on February 26.

Every girl needs two tractors. Matt to the rescue with the other tractor.

It was quickly apparent that the tractor with the grader would have to remain where it is until the snow melts. So we went to plan C - scraping snow while driving backwards.

By now the drive was so slick that keeping the tractor on the road and out of the ditches was nearly impossible. Also, our futile attempts were actually turning the drive into a smooth sheet of ice. At least the ruts decreased the possibility of sliding off the road and added some traction.
Plan D: we drove the Kybota and tractor in and out of the road several times to establish driveable ruts.
Plan E: Devour the tasty pizza that Matt had brought with him while chatting about summer activities.

Snowpocolypas Thursday - Friday

Thursday March 7, 2019
This storm isn't over. Awoke to a couple inches of new snow.

Still no landline, limited cell and intermittent internet but, I do have power, heat and water.

 Landscape work will probably occupy most of my spring and summer. These were 8' tall rhodys.

Not much will survive here without of serious pruning. It will be interesting to see what the gardens will morph into this year.

The pond is still frozen with layers of ice, snow, freezing rain and now a coating of snow.

 More of Vineman it emerging.

 These branches start over 20' up in this gigantic oak tree.

Lots of pruning in the will be needed in the back orchard and more removal of branches from the oak tree.

Impressive icicle above the flat roof. 

 Still snowing.

Friday March 8, 2019
Very gloomy day. Still no landline, cell that only works when standing outside in the freezing rain and still won't let me email or txt and intermittent internet. I spent all day yesterday hugging my cell phone waiting for a very important, return phone call. If I am not outside, all I get is the ring but no connection. The situation was very frustrating on both the caller and my end. They had been trying to reach me since Tuesday.
Freezing rain falling.

When I went out to pick up the mail, I startled some mergansers. They were across the pond before I could get the camera out.

They then flew off.

More flattened, previously, 10' tall rhodys. Topy dog is still completely buried with only a lump indicating his head. 

 The neighbors built a man cave.

 It was again snowing by the time I got back from the mailbox.

 Dark evening.

I didn't know that "snow dogs" hibernate but Team Nookies much prefer repose to running on ice covered snow in the freezing rain.

Did I mention that it was a very gloomy day?

Snowpocolypas Tuesday - Wednesday

Tuesday March 5, 2019
I escaped to town. Still no landline, poor cell reception and intermittent internet. It was good to talk to people face to face even if it was the tech at the mammogram center and my dentist.

I tried to go to Costco but with the predicted 3 days of freezing rain and more snow, everyone else in the county must have had the same idea. There was not a single space in the lot - even in the furthest hinterland. I later heard that the checkout lines went back to the chickens. So it was Safeway for OJ, bread and cheese - my solitude-with-a-bad-cold diet.

 No new snow and the rock hard piles are slowly shrinking.

Wednesday March 6, 2019
Freezing rain.
My hanging flower pot took on a new dimension when tendrils were coated with ice

Then a downpour of plain old Oregon rain.

Soon followed by snow - lots of snow.

Snowing as I type but the flat roofs are clear; the snow-melt troughs are dug and; I have actual electricity to plug my heating pad into; a computer to explore the world with and; plenty of OJ and Yukon Jack.

Snowpocolypas Saturday - Sunday - Monday

Saturday March 2, 2019
This picture about says it all.

I spent the day resting, reading and using my tractor to pull neighbors out of ditches.

Sunday March 3, 2019
Saturday night it dawned on me that the snow was piled way higher than the door thresholds and had no where for the melt to run-off except inside the house itself.  Sunday was spent with a pickax (a girl can't have too many tools) moving piles and trenching away from the house. Both the front and back of the house needed snow removal and troughs.

Daily I have displaced at least one dog from the dog couch since I lost power. Their couch has the best light and view. Their couch is a prefect place to drink tea, watch it snow and read a book. Being upstairs, it is also the warmest place in the house. However, as soon as I moved - in this case to take a picture - my spot was reclaimed by the displaced dog.

 Like the bed, I get the last 12" on the edge.

Monday March 4, 2019
Power returned in the morning. The first thing I did was make coffee, check the internet and charge the camera batteries. Still no water, limited cell, no land line and intermittent internet.

After I finished lunch, I post-holded out to the pump house and started the long process of priming the pump.

A few hours later, I had hot water to take a shower, do laundry and run the dishwasher. I had joked earlier with my guests that I was running out of cups and spoons to serve cocoa. Now I was ready for more company.
The barn roof.

The still frozen pond on this beautiful, cold, sunny day.

Snowpocolypse Thursday - Friday

Thursday, February 28, 2019
If I didn't have date stamps on photos, this week would be a total blur. Actually, I don't remember if it was still snowing on Thursday but, I do know that I awoke to a lot of snow and the temperature in the 20's - a situation that will hopefully kill off all the yellow jackets so I won't have need of unsightly traps this summer.

 31".

In spite of daily clearing the kennel roof of it's snow load and shoring it up inside, the tons of snow crashing down from the roof 15' above, totaled a truss last night. Snow removal on the clear, fiberglass paneled, kennel roof is a chore because you need a tall ladder and can't put any weight on the roof itself. I use a cement float to pull the snow off the roof. The float doesn't reach the entire 12' x 12' expanse of roof, necessitating re-positioning the ladder to each side. While perching on the top of the ladder, snow is scraped onto your front and into your boots during the process of tugging the heavy metal float handle and moving the snow over the edge of the roof. A design for a new kennel roof will include a bit more of a slope and stronger trusses.

Vineman with a snow-free head enjoying the scene of...

the frozen pond.

Taking the chainsaw, shovel and hand-tools with me, I decided to make a break for it and see what the world was like beyond my drive.

The trip was akin to cheap carnival ride where the car you are in is abruptly bounced from one side to the other. The wheelbase of the Kubota is narrower than the trucks that had made it in. With 4WD-L and both hands on the wheel, I still found myself needing to move to the high side to prevent the Kubota from toppling over.

I got to the road only to find my way blocked by the four main power-lines draped lower than the Kubota roof. Later when I drove out on the tractor to clear a path under the wires, I found that someone had used black electrical tape to tie the lines to the top of the road sign so they could drive out. The fix had me laughing so hard, I about fell off my tractor. But, I didn't have a camera with me so you will have to take my word for it. (Well, maybe I wouldn't have fallen off my tractor but I did get a big belly laugh out of the sight.) Humor in the midst of carnage.

One of the reasons we were still without power, water, cell, landline, internet or mail delivery:

Two huge Doug-fir trees came down and crashed, dead center, through the ridge-line, on a neighbor's house. Another neighbor had four, big, fir trees come down through the roof of their newly remodeled house. I had been invited to visit just last Saturday to help celebrate the remodel.

The view further down the road. Each of those downed trees is burying the power lines. The future looks discouraging for a quick fix.

 Still pretty bleak outside.

Hibernation in a cold, dark house. I had been told that my little generator couldn't power my oil heaters. I did have concern for the possibility of pipes freezing but managed thus far to keep the house in the 50's.

A hungry Junco on the snow pile outside the bedroom window.

Friday March 1, 2019
The local news broadcast (heard from the shower radio, my only link to the outside) reported that the roof on Thurston high school's gym had collapsed under the weight of the snow. The school is about 800' lower in elevation than I am thus had less snow. I took this as a foreboding omen. For some unfathomable reason, one wing of this house was built with a flat roof with a 14" lip surround. Only two small, inadequate drains, drain this roof in the best of times. Frequently it resembles a large wading pool.  My primary chore for the day was to remove the heavy, wet snow piled up on the flat roof. The accumulation was over 5' deep in places where the house roof snow had slid off onto it.

Life was not all work. I did take time to enjoy the beauty of my surroundings.

After the flat-roof snow removal, I found myself too exhausted to go out again with a camera to take pictures of my labors. (This picture is actually from March 3, and as you can see by the roof, there had been a considerable amount of snow compaction and melt.)

The recharge hub is only powered when I run the generator at night. Another re-purposed part of the great room is the snow melt, warmth and drying center.

By this time I was 7 days without power, thus no running water or central heat. However, all thing considered, the dogs and I are winter camping at the lux.