Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let ... Enough Already!

Over an 8-day period this month, we have had three major snowfalls here in Paradise that, by my estimates, have dumped about 3 feet of snow on us. According to the locals this amount of snow in December is unusual and any snow that does fall usually does not stay but with the cold temperatures and very high winds (up to 120 kph at times) this past week it is staying.  Have a look at these before-and-after photos to see what needed shoveling!

Summer

Winter

The front porch piled with snow

Our landlord supplied a small snowblower and in the fall, I started it up and it ran fine, so imagine my chagrin when I could not get it started!  And that was after having to dig a path from the backyard gate to the shed in which it was stored!  After the second snowfall, I dragged it out to the front of the house, got it into the van and took it to a local repair centre to get it tuned up and working again.

Meanwhile, our next-door neighbour graciously offered to let me borrow his snowblower, which is a very large and powerful unit.  Despite its power, it was still a struggle in some areas, so I can imagine that our small one will have great difficulty if we get another large snowfall.

Al was so excited to try out the neighbour's snow blower

Only 7 weeks until we leave on our Vacation Of A Lifetime!

 

 

The kittens are curious. What is this white stuff!

I ran across this video that epitomizes life in Newfoundland.  This is the type of snowstorm that we had to endure.  Enjoy!

Fortunately, a few days later, we got some strong winds with temperatures above zero combined with rain and although it would have been unpleasant if we had to go out, it served to melt about 50% of the snow load.