Snowy Weekend in Maryland
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Friday afternoon: It started to snow at mid-afternoon – just as the forecast has predicted. I had made my trek to the grocery store on Thursday so we were well prepared to just stay home for the duration of the snow storm. The birds seemed to be chowing down. There were a few at the feeder but they all could eat more rapidly at the bowl we had filled on the deck
Even as the bowl started to fill with snow.
Saturday before dawn: The front porch light cast some light across the snow on the porch and the front yard. It was about a foot deep.
The light in the back showed evidence of drifting. The snow extended well over the gutter from the roof of our covered deck. The large pot on the deck near where the bowl of bird seed was yesterday was a mound. The bowl is under the snow – buried too deep for the birds today. The screens of the covered deck are flocked with snow that the wind has blown around. There were already deer tracks in the backyard!
Saturday 8 AM: The cardinal was back. He didn’t stay long. The seed bowl is buried in snow and the feeder only works for smaller birds.
There are hummocks on the deck (snow heaped over pots and drifted by the wind) and more snow is sticking on the outside of the windows when it is picked up and swirled from the roofs by the wind.
The juncos are still frequent visitors to the feeder.
Evidently they are heavy enough that only one can feed at a time so take turns.
Saturday 11 AM: I measured the depth of the snow at the driveway as 17 inches
And 24 inches on the deck. The wind is creating drifts so there is significant variability.
I made snow ice cream! I used a non-dairy creamer then added vanilla, coconut flavoring, and red food coloring. My husband thought the creamer was not quite thick enough but I thought it was just right.
Saturday 1 PM: Another bird that was too big for the feeder stopped by. Maybe a cowbird?
All the hummocks on the deck are filling in with the snow falling and the wind smoothing out all the curves. The deer tracks from this morning are mostly gone and the one lane that was plowed this morning is half full of snow already.
Sunday morning: The sky is clear. The sunrise was boring with no clouds on the horizon. The neighborhood was very quiet before 7 AM; everyone was still snuggled indoors.
The deer had already made fresh tracks across the backyard and the juncos were visiting the feeder.
The snow on the driveway measured just under 22 inches – a bit less than my husband’s last measurement late Saturday. The wind had worked a little in our favor.
The shoveling of the driveway will take us hours – and probably not all at once. We’ll take breaks for warming up since the temps started out in the teens today and will only get into the 20s. There was already some melting from the gutters that were getting sunshine.
It looks like one lane has been plowed in the street. The mailbox is blocked by snow that fell and the snow pushed up by the plow. It needs to be cleared today so that the mail can be delivered on Monday.
