A different kind of storm

This winter has been a combination of cold, snow, and rain. Last week on top of about 6 inches of snow we got about 1.5 inches of rain. This combination has left us with the one thing I can’t handle with our ATV and plow or our tractor with front end loader bucket: ice. Our upper driveway has at least 1 inch of ice on it, effectively covering all the rocks and leaving us with an ice rink. Today I used our tractor to plow off the drifted snow from our driveway and to move 6 bags of ice melt from my car (parked 200 yards up our 1/3 mile driveway because of the ice) all the way up to our shed. From there Leslie and I pulled these 40-pound bags up to the worst ice at the top of our driveway by loading a bag or two on our grandkids’ sled and pulling the load uphill in 10F weather. We spread the melt mixture and we’ll be looking for some improvement tomorrow as the ice melt works its magic. We will go above freezing on Saturday and stay above through Wednesday so maybe we’ll be able to get our cars all the way up to the garage! This is what our driveway looked like before the ice melt application:

more ice

The ice has fallen from the trees but the meadow is a skating rink.  Even the dogs have trouble running.  Gracie H. came up the hill to visit Gambol this morning on our morning walk; both dogs slid 6 feet down the hill, legs splayed and toenails screeching. It helps to walk in our previous paths.  At least then we don't fall through.  It rained a bit and then snowed a bit.  I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday.
The hen who had a bloody comb seems to be repaired, but one of the black marans has lost some back feathers to an over zealous rooster.  Someone is always a bit tender.  They came out today to refill their crops on the driveway rocks.
Reading: A Child al Confino  Eric Lamet **** The autobiography of a Viennese Jewish boy who, with his mother, fled to Italy and was confined to a village by Mussolini.  It's a well written story of horrific deprivation and heartwarming care for other confinati. 
Reading: The Man who would be King  Kipling ****Two British adventurer-friends leave British India to take over a village in Afghanistan where no white men had ever been .  All goes well as long as the villagers believe they are gods, but... it's a short read.

Phil didn't see his shadow...

..so spring is near!  Right!  You couldn't tell that today.  We had 1" ice on the driveway and 1/8" covering tree branches.

My boys on Shannon's Curl.

The ice on the trees melted off and sounded like crystal shattering in the 34 deg afternoon, but refroze when the sun went down into a skating rink through the forest.  The dogs break through every 4th step. There will be no chasing squirrels until we get a good melt.  Four taunted Gambol from the driveway this morning.  I could imagine little squirrel tongues stuck out and paws waving from their ears at Gambol safely behind living room windows.  Since he had fur in his mouth yesterday, he's ready for a rematch.
The wind picked up at sunset and the temperature dove overnight to single digits with below 0 wind chill.

Dogwood under ice

One of the golden comets had a bloody comb this afternoon.  She flicked blood all over the coop.  Paul first counted all the birds and looked for a fox when he saw the blood.  I couldn't see obvious damage and she didn't appear to be picked upon.  I left her with her sisters overnight. 

Not a quiet walk in the woods today

At 0630 we had a light dusting of sleet that splashed as we walked and sounded like a snare drum.  At noon after a full morning of sleet we now sound more like ripping steel; we have a 1/4" coating of ice. Both dogs learned that following pre-made trails is much easier than breaking new ground.
I joined the work-in-my-jammies crew today. I felt like a wimp until I saw a dozen of my facebook friends doing the same . National Weather Service is pulling out all the media spin stops with this storm.  I've seen forecasts that headline ...LIFE THREATENING BLIZZARD TAKING PLACE... in Iowa. Many NOAA pages have links to weather history showing how this storm ranks.

Over the course of the past couple of winters I have noticed the formation of ice crystals just under the surface of the ground, particularly ground that has been disturbed and has no vegetation cover.  Usually this occurs in the spring as part of the thaw and frost cycle, moving snow melt into the soil and then the freezing temperatures overnight causing this moisture to freeze and crystallize.  The ice crystals close to the surface sometimes manage to erupt out of the soil, but most of the time the crystals create a small hollow bump in the ground, partially filled with ice and air.  You can see these bumps on a lot of our trails and once the crystals grow to a significant size (about 2 inches or so) these hollow bumps become very difficult to walk on.  They collapse and are a pretty effective tripping device.

This year the ice crystals are forming now, early in the winter.  This is probably because of the heavy rains we got only 3 weeks ago, just before the cold arrive to trap that moisture near the surface of the soil. 

So we have our own diamonds, but they don't last long enough to wear.

beginning ice sculptures

We have a small ice sculpture display around our main entry.  The ice shapes are from a large rubber watering pan we use for the chickens and a smaller silicon Bundt cake mould. Candles at night make pretty sparkles.  The watering pan is over 2 ft in diameter and some of the ice we have from it is 6 inches thick.  With temps below freezing for the past week, lots of things are frozen solid, and our ice sculptures are a fun way to mark the cold.

I got my Christmas present: a new Grizzly floor mount drill press. I drilled my first hole sidewise in a 2x4.  The drilling was like going through butter.  I need to get some clamps or a table and vice to hold the objects I will be drilling so that the wood doesn't pull out of my grip and do some real damage. Bring on the bee houses.

A neighbor, Ray, came to let us know that Gambol has been dangerously close to his coyote traps.    He has trapped 20 so far this season!  Stay home, Gambol, or suffer very unpleasant consequences. 

Reading: The Killing Room Manning *** Generations of a family meet every 10 years only to have one of their own spend the night in a haunted room and die.  Mystery solved.