The Melt begins… and ends.

I’ve been taking snapshots of our yard over the last week to document what I had hoped would be the beginning of the end for our deep snow cover.  And although it has been pretty dramatic, the snow beginning outside of my window this morning foretells a reversal of this good fortune.  Tomorrow’s post will show the results of today’s storms, but for today, the week past in pictures taken each day at about 4:30 PM, starting last Sunday.

These are views of our pond

And here the view from the deck to the willow

A Week of Change

It was over 50 degrees and sunny on Friday, two inches of snow fell on Saturday morning, then the temps came up again, and all the snow was gone before we were home from serving breakfast to over 400 people at Maple Syrup Saturday for Bubolz Preserve.  We put up the greenhouse on the deck, brought down the table and chairs, moved the planters back to where they belong for the summer, and were totally exhausted by about 4:30.  But then it was still nice enough and warm enough to sit out on the deck for a glass of wine and a relaxing look at the evening.  The grass is still very unstable, and I hope we didn't do too much damage to it as we walked and pushed the wheelbarrow over it. 

Over the last week I took photos each day of the progress of the melt.  It is pretty dramatic.  Though I do have to learn about staging a photo the same way repeatedly. 

What a Difference a Week Makes

A week ago, we had deep snow throughout the yard, and I was brushing snow off of the evergreens so their branches wouldn't break. Today, it has been above freezing since yesterday morning, and the grass is starting to show through in many places. Temps are likely to be over 40 for the next several days, and we may lose all of the snowcover.

As snow melts, things are uncovered that went unnoticed under the white blanket. Many mouse or vole runs are evident, which means that the grass will be torn up when it is revealed.

I love the big weeping willow in the southeast corner of the yard, but this shot shows one of the biggest downsides of willows: they drop branches and twigs constantly. We picked up a big pile of them right before the first snow, but there will be plenty in the spring.

And some plants seem not to understand that the January thaw is not the spring. The New England Aster plant under the bedroom window is already sending out new shoots. The warm weather is nice, and I do like to see what is going on. But I hope for more snow to cover all this up for awhile again. It's too soon to start cleaning up, and the snow offers protection from the inevitable cold nights still to come.