Monday, February 01, 2010, 05:19
Much Colder
As the weather forecast was predicting, after the storm system came through last weekend that had rain and slushy snow in it, the bottom dropped out of the temperature. Monday it grew progressively colder during the day. It was still snowing, too, but instead of the bigger, wetter, fatter flakes, it was the smaller and not-so-wet variety of snowflakes.
I think it's interesting how there are so many varieties of snowflakes -- big, fat, wet snowflakes full of water that soak into your clothes and make Pixie quite wet when she's only outside for a short while. And then the dry tiny snowflakes driven by a west or north wind that sting your face. There are many other kinds of snowflakes, too, but those are the only two kinds we've had around here lately.
The dry, stinging snow continued most of last Monday but with not more than a couple of inches of accumulation. Then the bottom really dropped out of the temperature. Wednesday morning it was only 0 degrees. Thursday it was 6 degrees below zero. And Friday morning it was 12 below zero.
But the worst part of it all of it is -- you wouldn't believe the glare ice that's around everywhere after the rain last weekend. The roads are glare ice. The sidewalks in places are glare ice. Parking lots. Driveways.
Just about every day at the newspaper office, there's a call for an ambulance over the scanner because someone fell on the ice in a parking lot or on a sidewalk and was injured enough to require transport to the hospital. Sometimes I hear a couple of calls like this in a day. One call on Wednesday was for a woman who had fallen on the ice, was lying in an intersection and was described as unresponsive.
Tuesday evening, even though it was bitter cold, I felt the need to get out for a walk. I walked along the road to the west of the house. There was plenty of moonlight to see where I was going. But what the moonlight also revealed was the glare ice on parts of the road. The ice is clear, a "black ice" of sorts, even though it is thicker than the usual black ice.
The ice looks eerie in the moonlight, menacing even, with the moon beams glinting off the it and the ice looking black and thick and clear enough to see the black of the blacktop beneath it. Fortunately, I was able to walk on the snow covered shoulder of the road to avoid the ice.
Wednesday I went on a road trip, of sorts, to get pictures of the snowmobile trail groomers for the newspaper. At one point I turned around in a driveway to get back to where I needed to be, and let me tell you, I did not envy the people who lived at that place. Their driveway was one solid expanse of clear ice. If I lived there, I think I would be tempted to invest in some ice skates.
As luck would have it, our driveway at home is not bad at all right now. Randy put down the hay chaff last weekend, but then of course, the snow on Monday covered it up. That's okay. When the snow eventually starts to melt, the chaff will still be there.
No, what was really fortunate is that Randy did not plow down to the bare driveway when he had an opportunity to do so. The places on the road and in driveways where there are treacherous glare ice are places that were completely bare before the rain fell.
Spring will officially arrive in about eight weeks.
Right now, it feels like eight months. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph
Thursday, January 28, 2010, 04:49
More Rain
We just can't get a break this winter for snow. We had some pretty good snow just before Christmas, but then the Christmas storm came and it rained mostly instead of snow. We haven't even been out on the snowshoes yet because it is not good snowshoe snow. After it rained at Christmas, the temperature dropped below zero, and there we were -- left with hard, crusty snow that doesn't work well for snowshoes.
I had my hopes up when the storm system last week was predicted that we would get some snow out of it. But no. Saturday morning everything was iced over. The porch was treacerous. My paths down to the barn and to the pastures were treacherous. Staying on one's feet was a real accomplishment.
Randy used the wheelbarrow to haul hay chaff from the barn to sprinkle on the driveways and the paths. That helped enormously. And just think about how green that is too. Completely biodegradeable and not harmful to anything. Plus, it didn't cost any money at all.
Another advantage to the hay chaff as grit and ice melt is that the Juncoes like it. They were out in a big group, pecking around the driveway and the paths. Bless their little hearts.
The reason I said "ice melt" in reference to the hay chaff is that once the sun comes out, the dark color will help melt the ice on the paths and the driveway. It works quite well, actually.
In two or three months, the icy paths and driveways that make it so difficult to walk around these days will be gone. I always forget, from winter to winter, how free I feel when I can finally walk without fear of slipping and falling -- when I can walk around outside without even thinking about it. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph