Still waiting for some sign of Spring

vickeym
vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

We are still waiting for Winter to show some sign of leaving us for this year. Had over 4 foot of snow oon Thanksgiving. Several smaller snowfalls since. Then in the last couple days we got about another 3 feet. Having to rent a backhoe with a loader to move some of it and stack it higher as we are running out of places to put it. Side roads here are mostly down to one lane and ours is barely that wide. Think it will be awhile before I can consider planting anything outside. :(


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Comments

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin
    edited March 2020

    @vickeym You certainly had more in less snowfalls than we received. Our snow hasn't been bad this year on the Canadian prairies. Newfoundland got it instead!

    We have been in that position, though, 3 years ago, where snow blocked everything. Hard snow drifts were up to eaves & nothing was open anywhere. My husband drove the tractor over the deep hard drifts (mainly through fields) until he could get to work to move snow. He used a 980 (for those who want to know...they are massive loaders) and had to dig through 6' of hard drifts to find the roads he was to clear.

    Hang in there. Spring will come to you.

    A note on your picture. It didn't seem to come through. Can you post a smaller one?

  • TiffanyMilner
    TiffanyMilner Posts: 13 ✭✭✭

    Snow hasn’t been a problem here in the PNW. We have had a lot of flooding. We are lucky to have a mild maritime climate here. However I may have jumped the gun when I started planting my seeds last week because it has been in the twenties the past two days!

    Some areas it looked like the ocean there was so much water. As far as the eye could see.


    This is not always waterfront property.

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    Small springtime birdies have been singing welcoming Spring, snowmelt, rain to warming weather.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    First picture came as an attachment. Don't usually do pictures so didn't see the correct symbol till afterwards. I'll try again here.


  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    @vickeym My kids said, "Nice!" Haha Kids. 🙃 In light of another recent post on TGN, at least you won't have to deal with ticks for a while. 🤗

  • SherryA
    SherryA Posts: 314 ✭✭✭

    Wow. That's a lot of snow! I have daffodils & yarrow starting to come up. They are so welcome! I'm about to go out and look for more!

  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    @TiffanyM YIKES! Where in PNW are you? I’m on the Central Oregon Coast and my tulips and azaleas are just starting to bloom and every herb and shrub have leaflets.

    Im in zone 8a and we have been in the mid 40’s lately but full sun most afternoons and everything is swollen and ready to break open. Yesterday I noticed my milk weed is coming up and the garlic chives are about 3 inches tall. Plus we mowed the lawn, the spring season is definitely coming up here!

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @vickeym My sympathies!

    Spring was slowly starting here. The snow was melting bit by bit. But a cold snap is upon us. The wind chill tomorrow is forecast for -31. :( No planting here for awhile either.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin
    edited March 2020

    @torey 😕

    We keep telling people that winter isn't done with us just yet! We may have had 10°c yesterday, but -31, snow & cold winds is really not out of the question considering that we will get -20 or so (who knows about windchill though), tomorrow night.

    At least we have goodies for the birds to help them withstand that sudden drop.

    An interesting tidbit to add considering our view that our winter is not yet over: March 4th was a big snowfall anniversary in our province. Oddly enough, these pictures of snow amounts don't look any different than what we saw 3 years ago.


  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Then there is the issue of the year old moose who has been hanging out because the snow is so deep they have a hard time getting around and several have died because they can't get to the food through the deep snow. This one has been pretty aggressive and has charged my husband and dog several times. We rented a front end loader and moved snow back further, clearing our property more than we had room to with the plow. She is not hanging as close now but was here yesterday maybe 20 feet outside our door. Guess she likes it here.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    That is certainly not a "pet" that you want hanging around. Do they not strip anything off trees when the snow is deep?

    It is sad to hear of this happening in your area.

  • kbmbillups1
    kbmbillups1 Posts: 1,390 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wow! That's a lot of snow! I live in Georgia. If we have a inch of snow everyone goes crazy buying bread and milk! I guess they think they're going to be snowed in forever! 😀 It was very warm here today which is not normal even for us and they're predicting 74 degrees for the high tomorrow. I planted several different plants last summer in my new flower bed. There were Johnny Jump Ups in one or more of those plants unknown to me! What a surprise! After a couple weeks of rain almost every day they sprouted up everywhere!! They "jumped" pretty far from the original spot too. I've been picking the ones the farthest from the bed. I hope spring finds you guys soon!


  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    @kbmbillups1 love your Johnny jump ups! I always plant my last years container pansies in the ground and wish them luck. I just let them grow wherever they land!

    For all you snow bunnies...I thought I would share a bit of my spring with you. Our first tulip for 2020.


  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The moose do eat the willow branches. However, the snow is so deep this year the yearlings that are dealing with their first winter alone are really having a hard time. Last year mom was with them and breaking trail through the snow if they needed it. This year they have to do it themselves and are not full size yet. Many are struggling and many are losing the fight. It is illegal to feed them (intentionally) their system cannot process hay and such so when they get into it on someone's property they have been known to starve to death with a full stomach since they cannot digest it. While folks mean well by putting it out for them, it does more harm than good.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @LaurieLovesLearning OK, I'll quit complaining about how cold it is! :) At least we have beautiful sunny weather here along with the cold. (-20 with a wind chill of -30 this morning) Much better, I think, than 2 feet of fresh snow! Or what @vickeym is experiencing. Wonder what the floods will be like this year with some of these high snow levels.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    We are quite happy it hs warmed up here. Currently 25 degrees here. So much better than the -30 from a few weeks ago. No idea what the wind chill was. Once it gets so cold, it really doesn't matter much anymore you can't be out there long enough to worry about it. Your skin starts freezing right away.

    That snow in Canada looks a lot like what we had back on Thanksgiving. Over 4 foot within about 30 hours or less. Gonna be a very wet spring. But we are praying that it will keep the fires from last summer from happening again this year.

  • bcabrobin
    bcabrobin Posts: 251 ✭✭✭

    60 on Thursday - rain,

    40's Friday

    20 - 30 on Sat/Sun was hoping for a cuople of cold/dry days so I can check fence - ticks and copperheads move slower when cold.

    Guess this is the weekend to do that job.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    This is as close to spring blooms as I have. I appreciate that they were aiming for a first day of spring bloom. They missed it "by that much!" 😂

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    All these flowers are just gorgeous. Thank you to everyone for sharing a little "green fix" with me while we are still buried under several feet of snow. It helps me remember that spring really is coming. It is just riding a slow train to get here.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @vickeym You are not alone! The snow is disappearing from my area, slowly, but we didn't get nearly what you did this year. However, we were making deliveries out to a community in the mountains near here the other day and I was shocked at how much snow they have. It has been a long time since I have seen snow banks that high. Only about 50 miles from us but what a difference!

    Its a gorgeous, sunny, warm day here so hopefully it is for you as well.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    torey Yes, we are getting a bit warmer here. Have been hitting mid 30's to low 40's lately. Things are starting to melt. Loving the warmer weather, though they are predicting a few nights this week in single digit numbers. But it is still better than our -30 temps we had before.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    6 inches of sticky, wet, nasty coastal type snow here today. I am disgusted!

  • burekcrew86
    burekcrew86 Posts: 248 ✭✭✭

    Had our first beautiful day yesterday in Pennsylvania - in the 60s. We’ll take them when we can get them. For me, hearing the birds singing has been very therapeutic during this stressful time.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin

    We saw a gopher 2 weeks ago! That was a surprise. Geese & ravens are back.

    It is surprising how early spring is this year. It is very telling that we didn't get as much snow as usual this winter...there will be no flooding in our area. The major river through this part of the prairies is the Assinibone River, and I am sure you could easily walk across it if because it is extremely low. Actually, you would most likely get stuck in the mud, unless you get quicksand...and then you are stuck anyway. 😂

    The deer are super plentiful. I could see a long hunting season next fall with bigger bag limits.

    Maple tapping temps are good this week. We aren't tapping this year though. 😑

    We still have snow, but just a mere 25 minutes away, they have nothing. That was surprising. It was so brown. I'm sure their ticks are already busy trying to find a meal.

    My onion chives are starting to poke through.

    That's my update!

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin
    edited April 2020

    And here we are again this morning. After a big rain, now we are getting snow. It is right on time. Usually there is a snow storm and bad roads during spring break & the local Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

    Spring break & the Fair might be cancelled, but not the weather.

    It has the feel of winter all over again. There will be snowmen if the kids have anything to do with it.


  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Our update for my part of Alaska.... still several feet of snow on the ground despite the above freezing daytime temperatures and now...3 days at least of snow in the forecast. At least 4" predicted. Nothing trying to poke it's head up yet, not even dirt unless you scrape it down to dirt while plowing. Gonna be awhile here yet before spring is more than a note on the calendar.

  • TiffanyMilner
    TiffanyMilner Posts: 13 ✭✭✭

    First to bloom have been plums. I am 40 min away from Chehalis Wa. I have mint starting it’s yearly advance. The seeds I started are popping out of the soil, ready for more room.


  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @LaurieLovesLearning & @vickeym You are not alone! We had intermittent blizzards throughout the day, 2 days ago. Snow going sideways! Today is beautiful and sunny but -14C last night. Not supposed to get above freezing today and several more nights of similar temps in the forecast. However, I am starting seeds under lights in the basement today.