We have brooms for other snowfalls. This will be a 3-slice shovel job: take the first 8" and throw, another 8" and throw, then finally find ground (or ice) at the third slice. Just to clear the area of one shovel. I'll clear a pee-pit for the dogs that way, not my long driveway. (We can throw the Pyrenees out in the snow, but the Corgi will flounder, or just pee on the deck.)
Another aspect that may be less common in Denmark than the Boston-Calais coast: all our electric is on poles. With high winds, trees come down. Idiot drivers who think 4WD won't slip take-out power poles.
Another aspect that may be less common in Denmark than the Boston-Calais coast: all our electric is on poles. With high winds, trees come down. Idiot drivers who think 4WD won't slip take-out power poles.
20 years ago, Tromsø in Norway had a particularly snowy winter... Around here, we acttually got more precipitation, but more of it came as rain, so we weren't as bad off...
Here's a picture from back then...
Here's a picture from back then...
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Loads of rain in the Caribbean yesterday evening.
Couple of broken-off tree branches on the porch, even had to use a water wiper/puller to create some dryland for the dogs.
The island has had so much rain in the 2nd half of 2016, that it's greener than I've ever seen before. Villas which were fully visible from a distance in august, are now 3/4d under wraps, some are completely vanished.
Ugh. I got to experience 46 deg Celsius once, in Delhi, India, for one half-day. I was on a train, with no air-conditioning, and all the clean drinking water I brought along with me (based on the previous day's temperature, which was much cooler) was used up in the first two or three hours.
You drink tap water in most of India at your peril (particularly at railway stations). So my choices were to (a) get dangerously dehydrated, (b) get dysentery, or (c) drink more sugary (but cold, and more importantly, factory-sealed) soda than I'd ever drunk in one day before.
I hope I never have to go through another day like that, and my sympathies to the people of Brisbane!
Back on topic, today is Family Day in British Columbia, a mandatory holiday for all, charmingly intended to be spent with your loved ones. There is snow on the ground, but the air is still, and the sun is out, and the temperature is above zero (Celsius). I think I can talk my wife into a little trip out to the nearby park.
-Gnobuddy
@carlp: Hi there 
.. Wow, really sounds like you have some snow coming (& PRR, too). Actually, thinking and getting the feel of it it feels/imagines quite cozy - being more or less "grounded" due to snow fall and (possibly?) having the chance to snug in and maybe drink a good warm cocoa (I have some fine cocoa here so it comes easy to my imagination ), dive in under the duvets or woolen plaids ... Feels attractive to me, yet - admittedly - I'm not where you are ...
Here the sun has been shining all day long and it's been warm enough to dry my laundry outside. Zip snow - which probably really is desired as moved to a small island a couple of months ago - actually not that far from Herning - and I reckon it can be a challenge to get around when it snows (although less snow than you experience) ...
... Hmmm... How long did you stay in Denmark, Carl? You seem to have gotten around a bit (although Malmø is not Denmark - just in case you forgot ) from the - almost eastern part (Copenhagen) to Herning ... Any chance you will be coming back?
@PRR:
Hi ... Yes it's quite unusual to be without electricity here - winter or summer. And you're right, we have fewer electricity poles (and 4 WDs). Except for Bornholm (the small island in the Baltic Sea) most of the ground we walk on is soil so most of the electricity is in the ground now. Maybe you have an off-the-grid power system?
And then thinking about wind ... As you may know, the Faroe Islands are part of Denmark (although with partly own rule) and when a hurricane hit Denmark between Christmas and New Year's Eve they measured wind speeds that were two times hurricane wind speed (234 km/h). Apparently a first ever ...
A bit of warmth from over here
Jesper
.. Wow, really sounds like you have some snow coming (& PRR, too). Actually, thinking and getting the feel of it it feels/imagines quite cozy - being more or less "grounded" due to snow fall and (possibly?) having the chance to snug in and maybe drink a good warm cocoa (I have some fine cocoa here so it comes easy to my imagination ), dive in under the duvets or woolen plaids ... Feels attractive to me, yet - admittedly - I'm not where you are ... Here the sun has been shining all day long and it's been warm enough to dry my laundry outside. Zip snow - which probably really is desired as moved to a small island a couple of months ago - actually not that far from Herning - and I reckon it can be a challenge to get around when it snows (although less snow than you experience) ...
... Hmmm... How long did you stay in Denmark, Carl? You seem to have gotten around a bit (although Malmø is not Denmark - just in case you forgot ) from the - almost eastern part (Copenhagen) to Herning ... Any chance you will be coming back?@PRR:
Hi ... Yes it's quite unusual to be without electricity here - winter or summer. And you're right, we have fewer electricity poles (and 4 WDs). Except for Bornholm (the small island in the Baltic Sea) most of the ground we walk on is soil so most of the electricity is in the ground now. Maybe you have an off-the-grid power system?
And then thinking about wind ... As you may know, the Faroe Islands are part of Denmark (although with partly own rule) and when a hurricane hit Denmark between Christmas and New Year's Eve they measured wind speeds that were two times hurricane wind speed (234 km/h). Apparently a first ever ...
A bit of warmth from over here
Jesper
> Except for Bornholm (the small island in the Baltic Sea)....
Bornholm's coastline
Wow. Except for the red paint, that IS Maine, the high-tax lots on the coast. Same waves rocks and woods, similar houses. Even the shed and vehicles far-left is Maine-ish. (I live a mile inland in the low-tax no-view district with older vehicles.)
> most of the ground we walk on is soil
That must be nice. Here is a foot of poor peat, saturated, over a foot of glacial clay and then rock all the way down. Not enough people here to justify blasting for ducts. So "underground" would mean hauling in mounds of ground.
Nevertheless, there is a "Call before you dig!" law. Neighbor had some wire trouble. All three wire-companies came out, looked at their wires overhead, and placed a "no wire" sign-off that digging was OK with them. (No water or sewer authority here, or there would be more sign-offs.)
NYC and Boston had blizzards a century ago, streets filled with down wires, so the wiring is mostly underground.
Much of the US was wired by farmer co-operatives stringing fence-wire on bottles on trees where they could. As these operations failed, commercial utilities took-over but could only do so much to upgrade the wires. Until the farmland sprouted houses, and then they could not tear-up streets to go underground. Occasionally someone thinks ahead, and puts the wires in before the streets and houses. But there is an awful lot of overhead wires in the US.
Bornholm's coastline
Wow. Except for the red paint, that IS Maine, the high-tax lots on the coast. Same waves rocks and woods, similar houses. Even the shed and vehicles far-left is Maine-ish. (I live a mile inland in the low-tax no-view district with older vehicles.)
> most of the ground we walk on is soil
That must be nice. Here is a foot of poor peat, saturated, over a foot of glacial clay and then rock all the way down. Not enough people here to justify blasting for ducts. So "underground" would mean hauling in mounds of ground.
Nevertheless, there is a "Call before you dig!" law. Neighbor had some wire trouble. All three wire-companies came out, looked at their wires overhead, and placed a "no wire" sign-off that digging was OK with them. (No water or sewer authority here, or there would be more sign-offs.)
NYC and Boston had blizzards a century ago, streets filled with down wires, so the wiring is mostly underground.
Much of the US was wired by farmer co-operatives stringing fence-wire on bottles on trees where they could. As these operations failed, commercial utilities took-over but could only do so much to upgrade the wires. Until the farmland sprouted houses, and then they could not tear-up streets to go underground. Occasionally someone thinks ahead, and puts the wires in before the streets and houses. But there is an awful lot of overhead wires in the US.
Not quite Fort Langley, but in the vicinity. We went out to Darby Reach park for a little walk today. There was still snow on the ground, turning to slush wherever people had been walking on it.
It was still beautiful, though, and watching the Fraser River flow by, completely oblivious of all human worries and concerns, as it has been for tens of thousands of years, was peaceful and calming, as always.
-Gnobuddy
@carlp: Hi there
Jesper
I like the cold of winter in that I get a chance to hibernate as you say. In warmer weather we do a lot of canoeing, sea kayaking and other outdoor activities, so an excuse to wrap up in a blanket and read a book is welcome.
I was in Denmark for 2 or 3 weeks. First half in Virum and Copenhagen (with a day trip to Malmo before the bridge, I think), second half in Herning. Both were terrific. I even made it to the coast on the North Sea west of Herning where I lost my wallet and officials SOMEHOW tracked me down in Herning and brought it back to me with everything in it. I have lots of great stories from that trip.
I spent three months based in Stoholm with trips all over Jutland including day trip to Skagen and a week in a holiday house at Bjerregard.
Got to visit all the small and major towns and attractions throughout the whole of central Jutland.
The beers are good, and the local women friendly !.
Dan.
Got to visit all the small and major towns and attractions throughout the whole of central Jutland.
The beers are good, and the local women friendly !.
Dan.
Wow, that's a lot of snow. We topped out at 15-18 inches (40cm or so).
Dan, although I was just 18 at the time I had a similar experience in Jutland.
@PRR:
BTW - Maine to my eyes and perception looks indeed attractive ... words that come to me about the nature is majestic or monumental, peace, calm ...
@Carlp:
... Can be Denmark .. makes me think of another city - Aarhus on the Eastern Coast of Jutland - which, before the city council changed the city's "headline" - was called "the city of smiles". Before moving to the island where I now live I lived for about 5 years in Aarhus, and one of my fondest memories of this city is of the overall feel and atmosphere ... whenever something could have ended with an angry look or a dispute or a negative discussion in 99.9% of such episodes it ended with a smile, helpfulness or in some other positive action. In my experience quite unique.
Well, will end now. Wishing you "happy snowing" if that may so be
Cheers,
Jesper
... Well, looks like Bornholm, yet taking a look at pictures from various parts of Maine I notice one striking difference - you have "height" ... to my memory the highest point on Bornholm is about 44 meters and in Denmark ~72 meters. So although we have a hill named "Heaven's mountain", i.e. "reaching for the heavens" in an international perspective it's not that high. A quite wide view though ...
BTW - Maine to my eyes and perception looks indeed attractive ... words that come to me about the nature is majestic or monumental, peace, calm ...
Well, I don't quite have a view of this on my inner eye but your way of putting it made me smile ...
Hmmm ... I reckon that different nature contexts each may have their qualities ... Having soil below my feet carries with it many qualities like e.g. it being very fertile in terms of allowing plants to grow well. Another could be the ability to lay down electricity, water pipes, high-speed internet etc. into the ground. Actually, I guess that many Danes after visiting other countries somehow recognize the uniqueness of the Danish nature - possibly not grandiose but having a beauty of its own ... Bornholm though is not very Danish from a nature point of view. Mostly rock which is not so in the rest of Denmark.
... I actually don't know how things evolved in Denmark but maybe somehow also associated with the co-operative movement that was quite strong in the eighteenth century - and still has its traces - I imagine there could have been some kind of organization. Also, Denmark has one of the longest existing monarchies in the world (from 958), and previously, with its twists and turns in time, it's my impression that things have had a degree of structure. Reflecting on the apparent contrast to what you write I am just thinking that it works well here ... besides when I was a kid (some 40 years ago) I only remember one power outage ... about three hours in ~ 1995 in a part of central Copenhagen ... as it is it actually appeared to be really cozy because people got together, lit candles etc.
@Carlp:
... Sounds attractive to me ... I am reading much on the internet (is needed), but e.g. lying down covered with a duvet - and a book at hand and maybe a log fire in the fireplace carries with it positive connotations ...
... Can be Denmark .. makes me think of another city - Aarhus on the Eastern Coast of Jutland - which, before the city council changed the city's "headline" - was called "the city of smiles". Before moving to the island where I now live I lived for about 5 years in Aarhus, and one of my fondest memories of this city is of the overall feel and atmosphere ... whenever something could have ended with an angry look or a dispute or a negative discussion in 99.9% of such episodes it ended with a smile, helpfulness or in some other positive action. In my experience quite unique. Well, will end now. Wishing you "happy snowing" if that may so be
Cheers,
Jesper
Approximately that much of mounds in the garden.
I am making an exceptional outing today for the sake of Valentine's Day and my girlfriend.
Rare things are more precious.
Yes, I found myself just watching it like one watches a fireplace, during the cold spell last month. Here's a shot from the Port Mann bridge. Not to often you see that.
