Well that dreary day turned into a snowy evening and then it got interesting. The snow started sticking and then it started coming down harder and harder. By bedtime we had 7 inches of the stuff with no relief in sight. About midnight the power went out for several hours and I was able to enjoy the lightening and snow without house lights interfering. I imagine the eskimos have a word for this sticky kind of snow. It has weighed down the trees and built up on them despite some pretty strong winds last night. Right now, I'm stuck at home until we cut a tree down and get it out of the driveway. Even worse, there is a tree bent over in the back yard that is blocking my view of most of the target wall. I wonder if some shot will break the snow free?


My driveway is under that tree...


Winter wonderland.




Looks like I have limited space for a fresh target. Someone is going to have to fix that!

Wow Jerry, spectacular! Now just turn those fans on under the verandah and blow it all away
A snowfall is nice sometimes but the damage done can be a pain...
Cheers
Neil

Hi Neil,
I tried the fan trick once and it sorta worked. I turned them on in reverse at high speed when it started snowing. Afetr about 3" of snow had fallen I had a couple "holes" in the snow cover.

I just loaded the Woodsman up with a shot shell and took a shot at the tree in the back yard. It knocked a lot of snow off where it hit. One more shot and I may have a window to shoot through! I think I'll just save the shell though. I can see enough of the wall to get the daily fix in.

just go down there and shake the tree. be _very_ aware though that when enough wieght has been removed, it will want to return to its pre-snow position, and probably at some velocity.....

or just chuck a couple of pepsi cans out in the snow and do some low effort plinking... better than not shooting at all, eh?

btw, where are you?

Hi Dan,

Yeah.... I'm not going to go shake the tree. I'll just wait and see if it recovers. If not, it will make a bit of fire wood.


Check this out: Just to the right of dead center you can now see the target wall through the tree. A couple shot shells dropped a bunch of snow. I'll still shoot the orange targets if I shoot anymore today but it was fun to watch the shot knock the snow down... The shells delivered the shot right where it was aimed. Fortunately I was able to host a country wide conference call from home today so I got some work done and prevented regressing completely to a 10 year old!

Oh, I'm in sunny Southern Maryland.

Leaf blowers work real well on the light,powdery snow - I have a backpack gas one that does a very rapid job - does the front walk, too!

My boys wish this were a light powder! This was heavy, wet, sticky snow and every shovelful was heavy...according to PJ and Chris.

Seriously, look at that tree, powder just doesn't stick like that. AJ did go out and shake some of the snow off that tree (ther are actually two main trunks bent over there) but it did not recover much. I think we may be deep into permanent deformation here...

Definately chainsaw territory there, from the looks of it. I'd say get as much shoveled as you can, before it freezes up solid. That wet, heavy snow can turn to white, crunchy ice overnight and then you'll be hacking it apart instead of shovelling it. My snowblower doesn't like the heavy stuff much, but it doesn't work at all on the ice.

I wouldn't use a chainsaw yet. If you really want to keep the tree, wait till it thaws out, and see what it does. Then, soon as possible tie it upright. Then this years growth ought to keep it up. Dory

Hey Jerry,

While you have the chainsaw out .... you could clear a path back another 50 yards or so. hehe. THAT's what you need. More range. Take the trunks, sharpen the tops, and plant them in the ground for a stockade around your house. Cozy the place right up.

Gary

34 degrees and warming. Spring has started its sputtering here in the Big Sky. Ive noticed in the last few years that the normally wicked Montana winters have been moving east. Great for us, but sucks for you guys.....

It is 32 but sunny here today. The snow is melting off the trees and the ones in back have rebounded enough to clear the line of sight to the target wall! I could have done without the Nor' Easter that came through and dropped the snow but I did get some cheerful news. It happens that the storm interfered with a "global warming" protest!