Arms like pudding

[Skybird]

... after having shoveled snow for one and half an hour. 66 cm on the streets and pavewalks around my house, still 45 on my balcony. I'm feeling old!

We have not had that much snow since 15 years.

My poor squirrels... The tree and bushes where feeders and water and woolbox and such are located, worked like a snow net, forming a snow bank that reached to my shoulders. It was a fight to get there and free the imprisoned nuts and unfreeze the water - the latter I am prepared to do several times today and tomorrow, just in case one of the fur noses dares to push it out of its nest, which occasionally they must, no matter how bad the weather is (no winter sleep, just reduced activity and metabolism, they cannot afford to build fat depots).

Still snowing, this fine, dry powder-sugar-like snow that piles up higher and higher and gets everywhere like fine sand, that sort of... Actually the snow layer may be just 40, 50cm, but the wind piles it up to higher banks, at least here in my street and around my house.

[Jimbuna]

Living in the north of England we seldom get weather extremes one way or the other but being only two miles from the coastline it is my belief that the salt ever present in the air helps keep snow to a minimum.

I could well be mistaken but I'm happy in my personal belief.

[Skybird]

Just completed my third showeling tour this day, plus that the space under the roof had snow entering through tiny spaces between the roof tiles and had covered th compete floor with 10 cm snow and needed cleaning, too. I'm done. my back is aching, my arms are hurting and I cannot hold a pencil anymore. Its lacking fitness, yes, but also: its excessive snow here. The only other man in the house who could seriously lend a hand, is not here currently. The others are older people or ladies.


80cm on my balcony now. Need to shovel that away a bit, too.


Also had a walk in between, and despite beign tired I enjoyed it. Felt like a little kid. Snow knees-high.

[u crank]

You should be careful Sky. People who are not use to snow shoveling can incure all kinds of injuries. Take it easy man.

Snow fall wise we here in Atlantic Canada have had a remarkable winter so far. Almost no snow and mild temps. Unfortunately that is going to end tomorrow. A snowfall warning has been issued.

[Skybird]

Thanks, but a Frisian saying goes like this: wat mut, dat mut. (=what must be done, must be done).

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by Skybird

My poor squirrels...

..are playing it smart and sleeping in.

I'm pretty sure they still know how to hibernate.

[Skybird]

Red European squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) do not hibernate. Agile and fast that they must be, they cannot afford to build fat reserves that make them clumsy, they then could not escape their enemies like especially pine martens, birds of prey, cats, crows... They can not eat for one or two days at max, and I had them missing for as long in the past ten days, but on the third day at the latest they must eat. They reduce their metabolism a bit and their acitvity, leave the nest only for as long as is needed to reach one of their depots, get one ore two nuts, and then escape back into their drey.

Thats why they are in so deep troubles if they have no sufficient depots. They get so weak then quickly that parasites and diseases can kill them much easier due to much reduced resistence strength of theirs.

Considering their high body temperature in normal season (~40°C) and the tiny body of theirs, they have quite high energy demands. They may reduce it a bit in winter rest, but its still high, also due to their very demanding way of moving. The squirrel's walking is very energy-intensive. Thats why they sleep once or twice over the day even in spring at summer, otsly later morning or near noon. Its not so much heat and sunshine, its because they must regenerate.

[Skybird]

Ca. 1600 LOC. Backyard near the garages. Open flat area.

[Skybird]

Random find.



I know I know that Americans will not be overly impressed, with their Blizzards at the East coast being much worse and a frequent event in the winter season, but this is Germany, the middle of it, and for the regional standards this snow event is absolutley exceptionell. I am not certain when was the last time i saw snow living for longer than just 3 or 4 hours, but its been many years. We had a huge snow desaster over here in the region, with some districts north of my hometown having no electricity for days - but that is 15 years ago.

Currently, all truck traffic in the area of my hometown has been prohibited by police, and I heard three driving cars over the day. No busses drive currently either, also no trains. Its wonderfully calm and peaceful. I love it. I am no city boy.

For the centre of the messy zone they project temperatures this night of -21°C.

[Jimbuna]

Sounds like Stalingrad

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Random find.



I know I know that Americans will not be overly impressed, with their Blizzards at the East coast being much worse and a frequent event in the winter season, but this is Germany, the middle of it, and for the regional standards this snow event is absolutley exceptionell. I am not certain when was the last time i saw snow living for longer than just 3 or 4 hours, but its been many years. We had a huge snow desaster over here in the region, with some districts north of my hometown having no electricity for days - but that is 15 years ago.

Currently, all truck traffic in the area of my hometown has been prohibited by police, and I heard three driving cars over the day. No busses drive currently either, also no trains. Its wonderfully calm and peaceful. I love it. I am no city boy.

For the centre of the messy zone they project temperatures this night of -21°C.

Snow isn't an issue because it can be shoveled and plowed. The real danger is when it warms up during the day and all that snow turns into water that then freezes into ice at night.

Lots of cityfolk with expensive luxury 4WD type vehicles get overly confident driving - sure a 4WD vehicle will help you *start* moving but does nothing when trying to stop.

[Skybird]

Brrrrr, now the cold is predicted to come here, regions around my hometown could reach -18 to -21°C tonight.
Thats almost extraterrestrial for our usual winter conditions in the region. Last time we had such temps was 1978.

In Nuremberg - much more to the south, not close to Münster - a heating plant is burning. Parts of the city are low on or have no heating. A coincidence of event and weather that will be remembered by many people down there...

No busses, trains, taxis, trucks, cars, mail, garbage collecting. Only trucks with food supplies for supermarkets drive here. Several ones bogged down yesterday and today at my location.

[Skybird]

In some regions in Germany, last night had temperatures of -27°C in the air and -30°C on the ground. There are now warnings for next night of temperatures going as low as -35°C.

Up my street, one house has bursted water pipes from the water freezing, we had close to -20°C last night in my location.


Think I have never experienced such temperatures myself before in my life. As I recall it, even during the days of blackout in the winter 15 years ago it was not that cold, there just was plenty of snow. But history record may prove me wrong, Im talking only of my own memory..

[Skybird]

After the cold extremes we have had, below -20°C in my region, plenty of snow - they now predict warmth extremes: up to over +20°C in my region this weekend.



Means on average we had normal temps around nill for the season.

[ET2SN]

Here's a fun fact you can verify, -40C is exactly the same as -40F.