No big snow

[altivo]

It did snow, just not as much as they said it would. We got somewhere between four and five inches of new powder here at the farm. At work, there was somewhat less, maybe three inches. Instead of continuing with heavy snow all day and into the night, things had pretty much dropped back to light flurries by noon time. Sorta disappointing, really. No doubt we'll still get the bitter cold over the weekend, without even having received the snow to make it worthwhile.

I noticed one interesting aspect of the snow today, though. We use a Rubbermaid wheelbarrow for lots of chores around here. If you aren't familiar with those, they have two large wheels on the sides, like a wheelchair, rather than a single fat but small diameter wheel at the front. They are easier to push with a heavy load and less likely to tip accidentally, but also more difficult to steer than the more traditional single wheel design.

Since the first snows three or four weeks ago, we've been developing packed trails where the wheelbarrow goes every day. When the snow melts and refreezes, these ruts develop something of the character of railroad tracks. You can't easily change your route, and are more or less limited to the paths already laid out for you. We have "tracks" all over, but when you look at them, they have "switches" and "wyes" and "diamonds" just like a rail yard. Since there is only one wheelbarrow, no traffic control is required. However, derailment is in fact possible, and with a heavy load, one must necessarily exercise some caution. Once derailed, getting back onto the track without spilling the load is quite an energy-consuming task.

Oh, and the knitted "horseshoe" hat is completed. I'm thinking about knitting some stuffed animal dolls next. I saw a design for an anthro sheep yesterday that could easily be improved a bit and would look quite cute.

Comments

[frith]

We have those big yellow two-wheeled wheelbarows too. I avoid using them unless I'm removing copious quantities of soiled straw and woodshavings. I prefer the sturdy metal one wheeled model, they're a lot easier to push through the snow and up the ramp to the dung trailer. We also have a four wheeled model and an electric wheelbarrow (for the rhino dung). I avoid using the electic wheelbarrow when at all possible. I prefer to make two trips with a regular wheelbarow than to operate that monstrosity.

[equusmaximus.livejournal.com]

We got about an extra five or six inches of snow over the last few days, nowhere near the severe dumping that we've been hearing about in other places. With the high winds and bitter cold that we did get, the lack of more snow is fine with me. As it is, the winds have blown the snow into drifts more than 2' deep, and getting to my shop is a trek that makes me ponder the idea of getting some snowshoes!

I'm familiar with the RubberMaid cart that you describe. I'd like to get one of those someday, but we've been making do with a regular wheel-barrow. That is, up until the snow got too deep to move it about easily. What we're using now is a combination of a "calf-sled" (literally, a sled for moving new-born calves in out of the snow and into a warm barn) and a large muck-bucket. The sled moves the bucket easily, and then we just keep piling it up. (We really need to get a small manure-spreader next season!) Given enough time, even miniature horses can create quite a pile. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We got another three inches overnight. It's really piling up here.

We were looking for another cart like the one we have last spring and couldn't find one. I don't know whether they quit making them or our local retailers just aren't carrying them any more. Ours is getting pretty shaky after ten years of use. We had to replace the axle once because it wore all the way through and broke. Now the wheels are getting wobbly and the body has a big crack where the handle attaches. But I still think it's a good design and better than a conventional wheelbarrow. It has served us well for a long and hard time.

[merik.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* I've always enjoyed how the South deals with the threat of snow. The forecast here on the southeastern coast of North Carolina is for a 40% chance of rain possibly mixed with snow after midnight tonight, with little or no snow accumulation. However, just this threat of bad weather made most school districts in the area decide several hours before school ended today to delay the start of school on Friday by 2 hours :-P Granted, there is a possibility for black ice forming in spots if it does indeed precipitate, but I'm just amused at school superintendants jumping the gun by activating snow delay plans 12+ hours in advance of the start of bad weather, if any should actually get here.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Schools here often wait until the last possible moment to announce a closing. It appears that they wait for someone else to make the first move, and then an avalanche of closing notices appears all at once.

[merik.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's what I'm used to seeing back in New York - everyone waits to see who flinches first, then everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Here, though, just the word "snow" in the forecast seems to make people in authority rush to press the panic button far, far too early :-P

By the way, the schools here had a delayed start for no good reason, as I figured they would. Light rain did fall overnight, but temperatures overnight went up into the low 40s instead of falling into the low 30s as was forecast. So, had the school folks waited until 6 AM or so, they would have seen that the rain was over, temperatures were 10+ degrees above freezing, and there was no reason to screw up the days of school kids and their parents...

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're having as much fun as we are. :D

I only use a single wheeled barrow, but it IS harder to keep upright sometimes. The heavy loads must be the reason.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heavy loads definitely make a single wheel harder to keep balanced.

Yeah, I guess we're having fun now. It dropped another three inches on us after I posted this.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Did you see the sat photo of the UK that I posted?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, but without a comparison photo of what it would "normally" look like, I couldn't tell for sure what I was seeing.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Ah well..in a like for like comparison of the Winters we've been getting recently, I'd say parts of North Scotland would be white, but the rest would be green. That's what's so increadible. It's a total coverage event, which is exceedingly rare here, especially in recent decades.