Snow Storm!

It was snowing pretty good this morning, but Daphnie still demanded her walk. More and more geese are coming in every day. They found a sheltered cove and were huddled down. Even Daphnie walking along the shore did not move them.

 We are expecting 12 to 20 cm of snow over the next few days. It's typical, it seems, for the end of March!

The river was rougher than normal, with the wind blowing down river

On a lighter note, the Blue Jays were sitting and waiting patiently for their peanuts.

 Of course, Big Brother was perched right over the geese, watching intently!

Have a good day. Stay isolated, Think WARM!

A Good Day..

to go back to bed!

Why I Like Whitecourt!

Issued at 9:33 p.m. MST Wednesday 26 November 2014

Summary

Hazardous winter conditions are expected. A major Pacific frontal system will bring heavy snowfall to parts of central Alberta starting tonight and continuing through Friday. For central Alberta, snow over the Mountain Parks today will become heavier overnight. The snow has spread northward into the Hinton and Whitecourt regions this evening and will continue eastward towards the City of Edmonton and surrounding areas overnight. Heavy snow will continue Thursday and Friday before the system moves into Saskatchewan. Over Kananaskis Country and the Pincher Creek region, the heavy snow won't begin until Friday, but it will last 24 to 36 hours as well. Storm total snowfall amounts will likely be in the 30 to 50 cm range over the mountain parks as well as the Hinton and Whitecourt regions, Kananaskis Country and Pincher Creek. Note that some areas may see up to 75 cm of snow. Areas expected to be hardest-hit include Grande Cache and the Icefields Parkway, as well as far southwestern Alberta including Pincher Creek. Jasper and Banff town sites will still receive significant snowfall, but will have lesser accumulations. Behind the system, frigid Arctic air will drop daytime highs well below normal for the weekend. Winter storm warnings are issued when 25 cm of snow or more are expected to fall in 24 hours or less.

Details

Travel is not recommended. Road closures are likely. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas. Poor weather conditions are likely to contribute to long-lasting transportation delays. Public Safety Canada encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first-aid kit and a flashlight. For information on emergency plans and kits go to http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/ Environment Canada meteorologists will update alerts as required. Please continue to monitor your local media or Weatheradio for further updates. If you would like to report severe weather, you can call 1-800-239-0484 or send an email to storm@ec.gc.ca or tweet reports to #ABStorm.

I'm Crazy, that's why!

3 1/2 Days to Go!

Our snow dump has come and is continuing. I'm guessing about 25 cm so far. We are still in the hurry up and wait mode as far as our new lodgings go.  2 1/2 hours to blow out the driveway and parking spots. This part of the Acreage I'm not going to miss!

Boots has decided that attacking the big horrible snow scoop is fun!


Here is a picture of my innocent helpers! Ha!

Green Christmas?

NOT

At 0800 early, this was what greeted me on my way out for coffee. About 25 cm (9.8 inches) of this white stuff fell over night. 2 1/2 hours later, the snow blower had the driveway plowed out. However, the County had not been around yet, so it was coffee at home today.

The first person to comment on how pretty it is, may get 12 lashes with a wet noodle!

Ho Hum!

Yesterday!

 Today!

At Least the dogs are happy!

More

After two more dumps like This ,I have finally gotten things dug out! It may take a while before the training paddock is available!

Yep, it may take a while!

The parking spot is cleared out, and my truck is back at home. The lower ball joint on the front passenger side broke leaving the tire sitting at 90 degrees to what it should have been. Fortunately, we were not on the highway when that happened or it could have been real exciting!

Looking at the picture, I see I forgot to shovel out the bed. Tomorrow is another day, with no snow forecast!

March 15 Dusting of Snow

 This is the well used trail down to the lower pasture. Time to get out the snowshoes again. Close to 30 cm (12 inches) of snow fell the last two days.

 The driveway was a mess this morning. A trip to town required 4 wheel drive most of the way in and back. No sign of any plows yet in our area. I took that amount off the driveway yesterday.

 My son's truck may be here for a while longer. It is 2 wheel drive.

 I still need to shovel out the trails to the horse area.

 If Brooklyn gets any wider in the back end, I may have to widen the path. Can't have side rub!

She is watching the neighbours closely, just in case there is something interesting going on.

How was your day?

Just When We Were Getting Ahead!

We got another dump of snow! About 20 cm (8 inches) of heavy wet snow!

 It likely will be a while before i get to ride down the trail, or anywhere else for that matter.

 Brooklyn looked as if to ask "So where is a gal supposed to do her business?" I try to encourage her to leave the trails.

 Hopefully we will get a slow and steady thaw....soon! we are up high enough on the mountain that flooding is not an issue.

 Yep, there is a lot of snow. The rose bushes are burried.

 The driveway took a lot of work to get it passable. Eight trips up and down with the snow blower and then scraping with the quad and blade.

 Our training corral is slightly unusable

Come on spring! I am more than ready!

Yep, More of the Same!

Unfortunately when we get record warm days, we usually get a snow dump to go with it. 

 Remind me to clean off the truck before going to A&W for coffee tomorrow morning. I might get a ticket otherwise. The snow fall replaced some of the level that compacted yesterday.

Biz kind of takes it all in stride.

 For mid January we are accumulating a lot of snow. It should make for a soggy spring.

All the paths had to be shoveled out again. The forecast for this evening is rain. Did you know that rain is a four letter word? At least at this time of year! Alpine and Tucker are enjoying their loaner blankets. Biz managed to get hers off, somehow.

 Boots is still taking his herding duties seriously. Biz almost tagged him with both hind feet when he slipped in the snow on a full charge.

 Alpine, iced up, but toasty warm under the blanket.

 Three hours of plowing, snow blowing and scooping and things are back to normal, whatever that is around the Acreage.

Think warm, stay warm, and keep the road between the tires!

Winter thoughts

Old Man Winter has arrived! It is very unlikely, but still possible, that this snowfall will melt. We are a little far north to catch the odd Chinook, but then again, anything is possible.

 The horses are still trying to find something edible under the snow. I caught Biz this morning happily munching away on burdock, something that all three horses avoided all summer. They are now on warm winter rations of a bale a day split three ways and two feedings. Quite a change when they are used to eating steadily.

 Brooklyn kind of likes the snow. she can see things better and nothing will sneak up on her.

 The gals are getting a very thick coat! Is it only thick coated caterpillars that foretell a cold winter?

The time changes on November 4th which says that the days will be getting longer. That is really good news!I am starting to get used to the cold again. It was -12 C this morning ( +10 F for all you southerners). Two days from now, this area opens up for big game hunting and tomorrow, the horses get locked out of the lower field ( away from the road). There are still a few folks out there that like to drive highways in search of deer and moose. This is not my idea of fair chase. Such folks also tend to ignore fences indicating private property . It's better to move the horses and err on the side of caution.
Think warm!

One thing about a good snowstorm is that things are so nice and clean afterwards

 The trees that did not lose their leaves are very heavy and nasty to brush against. I had to shake our Mayberry,  apple and other trees because the branches were right at the break point. The raspberry bushes were flattened.

 It's tough going through the denser part of the Acreage.

 This gives you an idea of how sticky the snow was.

 The horses have been using the old road quite a bit looking for food. Alas, there is none, and winter feeding has started.

 Boots doesn't seem to mind the snow, except that Brooklyn appears to have taken over his dog house. Hopefull, they will learn to share, or I will have to add an addition.

It was fortunate that the onions were drying in the garage out of the snow and -7C (19.4F) temperature. Half are now safely stored in the pantry. The other half will likely be given away.

All in all, not a bad day!