First Plow

This was the view through our sliding doors this morning. 

We're now up to 34" total snowfall for the season and it's still snowing today. Remember, the snowfall total is not equal to the snow depth. There is melting, compacting and condensing going on; so the snow is not 34" deep - yet! In order to keep track of the snow depth in our backyard, we decided to make a crude snow measuring stick of our own this year. Mr. Cut Off put it in a spot that we could see from our sliding doors that doesn't get much in the way of drifting.

We still have some scattered corn pellets under the snow in the backyard, and we had to laugh when we saw our local deer checking out the new snow stick the other night when they came to forage. They obviously noticed there was something different in the backyard. They would cautiously approach the stick - stretching out their necks and sniffing. A few more steps - repeating the stretching and sniffing - until they were finally close enough to run their noses up and down the stick. We found it quite amusing. Apparently, this process was repeated often throughout that night, as this is what we saw the next morning.

Can you believe all those tracks? It was like Grand Central Station out there!

Up until yesterday, Mr. Cut Off was able to deal with the snow we've had in our driveway this season by just tamping it down. That's the process of packing down a base layer onto the driveway. How does he do that? By driving up and down - up and down - up and down the driveway - using the tires on the vehicle to pack the snow. He put 20 miles on the Traverse doing that. The base layer enables the plow to skim over the top without gouging/dislodging the rock in the driveway, so it's important to have that solid base layer before he begins plowing. Here he was yesterday - using his plow for the first time for the 2016-17 snow season.

Because of all the snow we get, it's important not to paint yourself in a corner before Spring arrives. You need to begin the plowing season by pushing the snow far, far away from your driveway. Mr. Cut Off decided he needed to utilize one area near our dining area windows a bit better this year, so he pushed the snow further into the backyard. Guess who noticed?

They sure are curious!

Well, that's it for today. Migraine issues derailed my plans to finish up my Christmas decorating by Wednesday. No problem. As I said, it's still snowing outside; so I'm still in the Christmas spirit!

All is well in the Keweenaw.