February 5th, 2017
Calcium, NY

This winter has, by all accounts, been milder than last winter which was, in turn, a mild winter by North Country standards.  We got one heavy snow in early December, and a few sub-zero mornings, but January typically saw overnight lows around 20 and daytime highs in the mid to high thirties.  And little snow.

I continue to be fascinated and obsessed with the weather forecast, eve though it is generally pretty useless.  We’re just north of the Tug Hill Region, which has notoriously heavy snow.  We seem to get spared the worst of it, though.

Yesterday was cold, but pleasant enough until just about noon when the snow started coming down with a purpose.  Visibility dropped significantly and we got about 6-7 inches overnight.  So this morning I went out, fired up the snow blower (essential equipment for this area) and spent 45 minutes blowing and shoveling my driveway, walk, and steps to my front door.  I was confident doing so this morning, as no more snow was expected until later in the week.

At noon it started snowing again.  And is still snowing five hours later.  We have a good 3″ of new snow and my carefully cleared driveway is now, once again, under snow.  Grrr.

But I guess I shouldn’t complain since, as mentioned, we are just north of the worst snow areas.  I had to stop for gas on the way home from Syracuse today, so pulled off the highway at Sandy Creek, twenty-five miles south of home and smack in the middle of the Tug Hill area.  Getting back on the highway I was startled by the size of the snowbank created by the plows.

That’s right:  taller than the cars parked next to it.  And this has been a mild winter.

The turkeys don’t seem to mind the snow, though.  They spend their days in the woods on the north-east end of my property (right) and nights in the trees on the other side of the field across the road (left).  There are a about twenty-five in this rafter.  Here it’s late enough that they’re heading home to roost.  Turkeys can kind-sorta fly but, like chickens, aren’t very good at it.  If my hens are out and the turkeys wander through, neither seems to take any notice of the other.

Still snowing, so I guess I will be getting up early tomorrow to blow snow again.  Grrr.