Melt Down

After a fair amount of snowfall that never melted due to the cold temps, I began to wonder and ask questions like......"how much weight can a roof hold?" I didn't really want to ask that question and I'm not sure I wanted to know the answer. These pictures don't do justice to the 20+ inches of snow piled on the house.

This past weekend Todd got up there to shovel off the edges so ice dams wouldn't build up.

As the temperatures have risen, I keep hoping my roof is in good shape and we don't experience any leaks.

 The fence is 4 ft. high, so is the snow pile.

This is what the view would look like to the dogs, just piles of snow, so high you can't see over them.

And the pile on the back patio is as tall as the chiminea, >4 ft.

Sunday

Don't need to ask them what Sundays are for.................



Ice Caves Part 3

 Here's another area I'd like to kayak into during the summer.

Signe trying to steal my beverage.

 This was Todd's idea, in addition to some chocolate.

 I'm not sure it kept us warm, but it tasted good.

 Proud of his purchase.

 To end the great day we had a buffet dinner at the Red Cliff Casino - here was the spectacular view from our table. Life is so good and I'm thankful.

Ice Caves Part 2

The pictures don't do justice, but I thought it was neat to see moss on the rocks just above and underneath a layer of thick ice.

I want to kayak through that opening in the summer.

If it looks like a complete white-out behind Signe, it was. It was like looking out on the arctic tundra like you see on tv.

Steve and Todd, happy?

A little cold but still smiling.

I was trying to capture the blue color of the ice; obviously I need to learn how to use the features on the camera.

These icicles must have been formed while the wind was blowing.



Ice Cave Adventure

As some of you know, we've been having a very cold winter. So cold that Lake Superior is frozen over. I wanted to take advantage of this so I asked Todd to take me to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to view the ice caves. Here we are on the shuttle bus.

We went with our friends Steve and Signe. We caught the shuttle and I'm glad we did; the -25 temps would not have made walking another 2 miles very fun.

So fortunate the sun was shining all day, it sure was beautiful.

According to the National Park Service, nearly 78,000 people visited the caves from Jan. 15 through the end of February. The last time the ice was thick enough to walk on to see the caves was in 2009, but only about 8,400 visited in January and February that year.

 It was amazing and I'd like to return in the summer to kayak in the caves.



Cold Weather Food

Winter weather calls for soup. Made potato bacon soup - it's really about the bacon and cheese, right?

 And Todd wanted some rice custard. I like custard and rice separately, not together.



Nature's Art

Walking the dogs around the neighborhood offers some beautiful sites. The trees in front this home were bent over from the heavy snow.

 Now that's being flexible.

 Although most of the snow has fallen off, I think the branches are now frozen into the snow on the ground. When spring arrives, hopefully the trees will spring back into an upright position.



Cuddly Friends

When it's cold out, it's best to have friends to cuddle with (a fleece blanket helps too).

 



A Weeee Bit Cold

This morning is definitely a "wear your long underwear," cover every part of your body, kind of day.

Sunshine - we love it!

Outside it's cold and a blanket of snow covers everything, but inside, you find a patch of afternoon sun and bask in it. 

 Pancho soaking it in or meditating.... perhaps both.

 Misty is a sun worshiper, I'm sure if she could talk, she'd say she's looking forward to spring and summer.

 I thought the sun might help to melt a little snow off this tree, but those flakes are still hanging on.

New Frig

Got my new frig..... so shiny and pretty.



Winter Wonderland

The snow storm we received last Friday was nearly 8 inches of heavy, heavy snow. Over the weekend, the sun came out so the trees looked beautiful. However, the roads are covered in 1- 2 inches of ice.  I went out on errands over the weekend and saw a few too many fender benders. Here are a few videos.

 

......and you can see at the end, the destruction in my driveway. It doesn't look that bad in the video, but believe me..... it was bad.

 

Nature's Wrath and Beauty

 We got hit by a big storm. It was warm so the snow packed a punch with a lot of moisture. Despite my efforts of taking a 6 foot pole to knock off the snow from branches and bushes, we again lost some huge limbs from our old growth pines. A couple of the limbs are more than 10 feet.

This makes me so sad. 

 This big branch took out several others on its way down. There's nothing I can do, Todd needs to bust out his chain saw. Thank goodness it only blocked only one side of our driveway, we were still able to dig ourselves out the other side.

It is quite a site. I'm thankful for my awesome snow thrower, our four wheel drive truck and cute puppy dogs who manage to wade through 2 feet of snow to go potty. 

Fresh Air & Sunshine

It was absolutely gorgeous on the weekend, I decided vacuuming and ironing could wait. It was more important to get out and enjoy.



Be Gone

Thank goodness Todd is a handy hubby. Here he is working some magic on the old dishwasher.

 Getting it un-stuck.

 ............and it's out!

 It would be really nice to put the recycle bins in this space.... we'll see.



Small Steps

Two  coats of paint behind and above the frig.......done. 

 My loyal Pancho, always by my side supervising.

Renovations

 Recently I've had to take a break from my crochet hobby and turn my attention to the kitchen. The appliances were here when we bought the house, but it's time for an update.

 All the wood in the kitchen was custom made with extra thick wood. It is nice (yet dated), and new appliances don't fit in the custom woodwork so I hired my co-worker's son to dismantle the cabinets above the frig and the wall on the side of the frig.

 There was also custom wood work around the vent hood above the stove. Time to go, the vent hood hadn't worked for quite some time and removing the wood made a big difference. The kitchen feels more spacious and bright having; all by removing just a small amount of the wood work.

 Then there is this ancient dishwasher. I don't think it works; we've never used it.

Actually, we have used it...... for storage.  I guess I should file my taxes and hope for a decent return since the expenditure on new appliances has already been made.