3/9/08 When it rains . . .

. . . it makes a big mess. With all this snow and the hard frozen ground, the rain water has no where to go, so it just sits there. This is the walk from the driveway to the side porch (the entrance we use all the time). That's snow piled high on either side and river inbetween the banks. The sidewalk is made of asphalt like the driveway--that's the gray color you see. But on top of that is a giant river of water. It went below freezing last night, so that's a thick layer of ice on top.

Here I am standing in the semi-frozen river.

BTW, do you like my new rainboots? Up here they call them Wellingtons or "Wellies". (The really old name is "rubber boots".) And they come in a variety of colors and prints as well as a variety of prices. L.L. Bean has some fancy designer ones for $49.99. I got mine at Reny's on the March Madness sale. Solids were $19.99 (regularly $22.99) and fancy ones were $24.99 (regularly $26.99). I wanted the lime green solids but this was the only color in my size so I paid extra money to get a print because obviously, I really need them . . . NOW. Remember, this is not just water I'm standing in, this is ice water!

3/9/08 . . . like the swallows of San Juan Capistrano

We've been waiting all winter for Gifford's to open back up. And now it's here! Friday the 14th. On that night you can stand in a very long line and get free ice cream. Last year there was a blizzard snow storm. We went to the movies to get out of the cold but I heard tale of a long line in spite of the weather. Maybe I'll be a part of the tradition this year. It's the Farmington sign that winter is on its way out and Mud Season followed by Spring and Summer are on their way. Now which harbinger of spring do you prefer--ice cream or a bunch of birds flying in?

3/9/08 try to find these at your local department store

Only at Reny's (A Maine Adventure) could you find butterfly nets made with bamboo poles that are at least 3 feet long. This is a "wicked good" butterfly net--one that would actually work to catch butterflies. And it's only 99 cents. Gotta love it.

3/9/08 The Farmington Diner is Moving on

Ah, the Diner. Farmington has had a good, old-fashioned "diner" since the 1950's. Made in that classic all-aluminum exterior, it has the booths and stools that you would expect in a classic diner. Mother and Daddy and I ate there when they came to visit last October. I've been there with MRM and her parents for breakfast. But the land was sold to Rite-Aid along with the plot next door and a new shiny sign of progress will be built in that location. There are many stories about who bought the building of the diner, but it didn't get demolished. Here it is, hooked up to a truck, ready to be moved to its new home, wherever that may be.

3/9/08 Snow Status

The yellow building on the right is the garage, the green building in the back is the cabana by the pool. If you look carefully inbetween them, you can see a chain link fence. But you'll only see the top 6-10 inches of the chain link fence because the rest is surrounded by snow! Those aren't drifts from blowing snow or banks from shoveled snow. That's the accumulated snow that's fallen this winter. And that's after we've had a few rainstorms and "winter thaw", so it's not the total accumulation, we've had some melt. It's a L O T of snow.

This looks like a path shoveled to nowhere but at the end of the path is the opening to the heating oil tank in the basement. You're required to keep that path shoveled so the heating oil delivery person can deliver your oil. I guess it's not only required by the heating oil company but pretty much self-mandated if you don't want to freeze your winter away.

It may look like trick photography . . . maybe I was laying down and taking this photo to get an angle that would create the illusion of a lot of snow. But this is no illusion. I am standing in the driveway looking at the front porch. I'm 5'9" and I can barely see over the snow piled on either side of the driveway.

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