Barnalanche

You weren't planning on going anywhere, were you?

The J crew came to the rescue and tackled it, just in case we needed more mint chocolate chip ice cream in a hurry.

Another avalanche: Snow from the roof of the house.

This is the front porch after J shoveled. When the snow kept coming and coming, we got lots of new cracks on the walls and ceiling, and ominous noises were coming from the roof. Some of us were spooked and decided to sleep downstairs until the roof was cleared of snow, while others (okay, it was just one of us), were unperturbed. We have many debates in our house about such matters, and let me just remind folks that it is not the pessimist's house that collapses under the weight of four feet of snow, but the optimist's.

Despite all that hard work, the roof still sprung a leak above my closet, where ice got under the shingles. Getting ice off of a roof is a tricky task. Some try to melt it off with a blow torch. J used a hammer to dislodge it. We will have to deal with roof repairs in the spring. Oh winter.

The weather is wild, and everyone is exasperated. Roofs are collapsing, and snow shovels are breaking from constant use, and good luck finding a new one. The chorus around here is, "so much for global warming!" But to the contrary, I see this strange weather as an indication of something out of whack. Of course I keep my mouth shut. Because I'm a good girl. And a big chicken, braaak, brraaaack!

The bird feeder - this is what our house must have felt like under all that snow.

The tractor is still in the shop.

After weeks of snow, now we have a dramatic twist - the pineapple express is here, from Hawaii! Rain and howling wind hammer the house at night, keeping me awake. I like it, it's a nice alternative to the white death blanket. The blanket is receding, which is the good news. The bad news is that it's leaving an ice rink and slush in its wake. The driveway is very tricky, I think I may have killed the car trying to navigate the mountains and valleys. Oh, fun!

And we all thought that last year was crazy. I don't know what the snowfall total for our area is, but it's well over 6 feet for Spokane, so I imagine we've had 8 feet or more!

The kids have had several snow days. They went back today, which is why I have time to write this. What surprises will the weather bring us next?

This all makes me think of that wonderful book by Arnold Lobel, Owl at Home. "You must go, Winter! shouted Owl. Go away, right now!" I believe it is time for some tear-water tea.