New England ~ February 2014

@CapeCoddess wrote:Mostly a wind/rain event here for tomorrows storm unless the system moves south a bit.  Maybe the rain will wash away all this snow we've had laying around since Thanksgiving.  I'm wondering if there are any daffies under there.

I haven't started any seeds yet...just not in the mood.  When do you folks start your onions/leeks?

CC

CC, start your leeks in March, that should be good enough.

Will do...thanks, Camp.

Well, my compost pile certainly isn't steaming.  It's not even warm anymore.    I've never seen it like this before this year, and haven't been able to get out to it in weeks.

BUT...rain rain and more rain is falling right now.     I wouldn't even mind losing electricity to the winds for a while if it results in all these layers of snow and ice disappearing.

I know a lot of you are getting dumped on today.  Hang in there.  I'll let you know if there are daffies under all that mess.

CC

If it's any consolation CC, my yard looks like that the entire winter every winter. You know what I do with my compost? I dig a hole in the snow and dump it right in. Spring will take care of it.

I want barbeque for supper.  

How strange...I just told a coworker that on the way home tonite I'm stopping at the Stop & Shop for their every Friday $5 rotisserie BBQ chicken special!    That is SO not like me.  Never thought about meat as being a winter thing but I can see it now.

Looks like the Cape, and maybe NHG, is getting the brunt of Saturdays nites storm.  Right when I can see lawn we have to cover it back up.    

Just me...    ing again... (no, I don't drink so it's not that)

CC

We got thirteen new inches of snow.

Here's my corgi following in the path made by her big cousin, Daisy the golden.  Penny couldn't get off the step til Daisy made a trail for her last nite.

Here's my furbaby at the beginning of the storm.  She doesn't mind at all when the snow piles up on her back.  She's got a lovely double layer of fur and the snow sits on top without penetrating.

I printed my seed starting schedule for this year from johnnyseeds.com and ran off some monthly calendar sheets (Printmaster 12) so I could list what to start when.  I'll have to work on that today.
By tomorrow I want to order from Oregon Spring (a few plants) and Johnny's for flower and greens seeds.  I'm getting the spring bug.  And even tho I thought I'd not start seeds this year, I will.  I'm already itching to begin.  

@CapeCoddess wrote:...Never thought about meat as being a winter thing but I can see it now...
CC

My wife and I were always big meat eaters until 3-4 years ago when we started getting a regular and varied veggie harvest from the garden.   Without realizing it, we became nearly vegetarians for the summer because we just lost interest in meat.  When the fresh harvest slowed down, meat crept back into our diet for the winter.  This winter we had enough veggies put up so that we've been eating only our own veggies all winter, but it's not the same as fresh, and we're still eating meat.

I'll tell you what, I've had about all I can take of this winter. The bees appear to have dysentery and the chicken coop door (not the run door) is now frozen shut, so no more eggs till that melts.

camprn, consult that wizardry Almanac you have and see when we're scheduled for a bit of relief, eh?

(and CC, if you're not using that alcohol, I'll take it)

@quiltbea wrote:We got thirteen new inches of snow.

Same here and more snow on the way for tomorrow.

@NHGardener wrote:

(and CC, if you're not using that alcohol, I'll take it)

+1

@sanderson wrote:QB,  I'll say it again. . . I love your snow dogs photos!

I second that!  Penny is the ultimate and I love seeing photos of her.  How cute, and smart, that she uses the trail made by Daisy.

They just posted blizzard warnings, in affect starting tomorrow afternoon. 
                



I don't care what it is at this point...just give me food... 

              (I hope that last one's a kiss and not a pile of ...)

CC

PS  QB, I love you drive to plant seeds...maybe it's contagious.

@NHGardener wrote:
camprn, consult that wizardry Almanac you have and see when we're scheduled for a bit of relief, eh?

February 20
http://weatherspark.com/#!dashboard;a=USA/NH/Rochester

Use the mouse wheel to compress the chart to see the week forecast.

Looks like starting Wednesday, we'll be above the mean. We deserve it.

@CapeCoddess wrote:   (I hope that last one's a kiss and not a pile of ...)
CC

Sorry, but when Rooster added that smilie, I asked him if it was a pile of .... and he swore that it was dancing compost!  

If it were the other thing, I could see why it would be dancing. It could be as happy to get rid of us as we are to get rid of it.

@NHGardener wrote:Looks like starting Wednesday, we'll be above the mean. We deserve it.

Agreed. It really cannot come soon enough, however I decline to whine about it. And then the great winds of March will be upon us.

I spent hours today moving snow. Tomorrow I will rake what I can off the roof.

We are under a blizzard watch. Pfft!  

It's dancing poo.   The smiley was just put in the wrong line.

On the other hand, poo is good for the compost pile.

@camprn wrote:I spent hours today moving snow. Tomorrow I will rake what I can off the roof.

Exercise!  

 Gadz you guys are funny!  

Poo or compost, that dancing pile doesn't look anything like my compost pile, which btw, I was able to get out to today without falling thru a foot of snow & ice:

BUT, it's frozen solid so a lot of months worth of saved up scraps just rolled off down the sides:

Then I dumped a garbage bag load of shredded office paper over the top of it all and made it more aesthetically pleasing.  I'm sure the foot of snow we're getting tonight will take care of it all.  Altho there was a little white and orange striped pumpkin that I meant to get seeds from that rolled off under the neighbors hedge back there.  Guess I'll have to retrieve it asap.  Hope I don't forget since I'm not sure how he'd feel about pumpkins vines crawling across his back yard.

Camp, did you get your roof raked?  I'd never heard of roof raking til I came to this forum.  It seems so bizarre and funny to me.  Is it done so your roofs don't fall in?  I can't even imagine that. Do you use a regular leaf rake or is there a special roof rake?  I gotta go YouTube it.

CC

The pond across the road this morning:

Wow, CC, thanks for the pics.  For a while now, I've thought you were living in the banana belt of the NE!

@boffer wrote:For a while now, I've thought you were living in the banana belt of the NE!

Tis true dat! This is the coldest & worst snow year I've ever seen in the 37 yrs I've been here.  My Facebook photos of da hood are freaking all my summer/snowbird neighbors out.  And it ain't over yet...  

CC

CC, you are cracking me up with your compost story!    Yup, my compost also just "sits there" all winter (thank goodness for snow cover), but when spring comes, whammo, it all of a sudden disappears into the pile.

And yes, we're roof rakers too! The tip off was when we first bought the house and the prior owner stopped by after a storm to give us a tip that maybe we might want to shovel the roof - it's a cathedral ceiling without, I guess, a lot of support. After the first snow, Home Depot usually runs out of roof rakes, so you gotta snatch em early.   

That and black fly season were things I never read about in the NH brochures.....

NHG, I was up north a long time ago during black fly season to help some friends build a driveway. My H & I immediately jumped back into the car and drove home to the Cape.

Okay, so I learned about roof raking and ice dams, and throwing salt filled pantyhose into the gutters. If the winters here continue on like this one I guess I'll have to start wearing Leggs again. 

Heavy wet snow falling here now. time to make some popcorn and hunker down with the second Omnibus in the Silo series.

CC - who's tablet is going to drive her to drink