Snowblower fumes, day two

(Dec 26 9:30 a.m.)

It was the greatest Christmas present Maine could offer: a snowstorm.  (It would also be noted that ‘great’ can mean ‘greatly bad.’ …And also we weren’t the only state to be hit with snow; Pennsylvania just got 53″ over two days.)

But I’ll start with the more peaceful aspects of the past few days.

(Dec 23 10:17 p.m.)

The small (plastic) tree was adorned with some lights, and presents were gathered.  …The phone camera never does direct light sources justice.

(Dec 24 4:26 p.m.)

You have to turn the camera ISO waaaay down to get something of the shape of the tungsten filament in these bulbs.

(Dec 24 4:45 p.m.)

It’s also a chore to make the right color adjustments for better representation of incandescent light.  You might notice less grain in this photo; it was taken with long exposure.

(Dec 23 3:39 p.m.)

Outside the house, temperatures have fallen, lower and lower.  But before it turned bitter cold (below zero in the next few days), there was just enough precipitation to cover the trees, followed by enough sunlight to melt the ice, and spread the freezing water down the lengths of the branches.  This process creates a sort of … tree-icicle formation or “tree-cicle effect.”  What’s more, the weight of the ice causes branches to dip, and some breaches get so heavy that they break.  It was interesting to see this, at first, the day before Christmas Eve.  And a problem for us, it was not.

Until the next day.

(Dec 24 3:33 p.m.)

Interesting became a mess.  Whole trees began to droop into the snow.  Branch fragments were littered throughout the path.  It was a small pain to deal with, but not too bad.  There wasn’t any new snow for the day (if I recall correctly); we could just dodge the branches, and be on our way.

Until the next day.

(Dec 25 2:57 p.m.)

Christmas Day began with a loss of power for an hour and some 1″ per hour of the white stuff in the morning.  Snow drifts drifted into a foot or so vertical.

(Dec 25 3:03 p.m.)

The result was the first Winter Wonderland of the season.  A real chore.

(Dec 25 2:56 p.m.)

People had their snowblowers out, and the smell of the pollution was one of the first things I noticed when I opened the door.

(Dec 25 3:15 p.m.)

Christmas Day put Christmas Eve’s mess to shame.  The trees were in even worse shape.

(Dec 25 3:26 p.m.)

(Dec 25 3:31 p.m.)

These photos really don’t do the scene justice.  There was so much snow in the trees.

Gray clouds that may or may not be, in part, snowblower smog. (Dec 26 11:15 a.m.)

It was bad enough that one day wasn’t enough to clear the snow from the driveway.  I shoveled twice (second time at night), and still had some left to go.  (Let’s hope I didn’t injure either of my arms this time.)  And a few people were out with a snowblower again.

(Dec 26 11:07 p.m.)

And the ice only got worse.  Trees sparkled in the morning.  (Click on the leading/topmost photo to see what I mean.)

(Dec 26 11:09 a.m.)

(Dec 26 11:14 a.m.)

A blue jay, flying by, stopped me in my tracks to snap a photo of this view.  I saw another (or maybe the same one) outside the kitchen window, but of course I couldn’t get the camera in time to capture it.

(Dec 25 4:12 p.m.)

As for presents, we got some nuts: assorted, almonds, cashews, and a lot of pistachios.  Cutlery and outerwear.  Dunkirk on DVD.

(Dec 26 11:15 a.m.)

Well, that’s about it for today.  I am once again tired.  I hope you’ve had a wonderful time this holiday season.  I may have more to share before the year is over, I may not.  2017, for a year, was… something else.

Until next time…

My mother also baked cookies. (Dec 23 11:28 p.m.)

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