tamarack

7/3/66 takes (bakes?) the cake. The coil thermometer at the end of the counter, 10-12 feet from the grill, reached about 140 - scale only reached 120 and the needle was well beyond that line. I'm better off NOT knowing how hot it next to the grill. In 1977 I could climb down to the 1st floor in 20 seconds. In 1966 I was behind the counter all day. Closing time was 8 PM but people were still pouring in 15 minutes later, so I went on the loudspeaker to say we were closed but would serve all who were already inside the lodge. (Got a bit of flack from the park supervisor but he soon understood.) At that time, I'd never had a cup of hot coffee despite brewing the stuff in the 50-cup urn. Ice tea demand went up and down with the temp; coffee demand went up and down by how many people came thru the gate. Could not understand then but later learned the joy of hot coffee in all weather.

That makes me think of May 22, 1977, the day I chose to add insulation to the attic of our small (18x20) Fort Kent 2-story, while CAR tied its all-time hottest at 96. We're so smart. Hot Saturday was the only time I've been in Maine saltwater that felt genuinely warm, near Otter Cliffs in Acadia. (After baking my brain while picking blueberries next to Rt 1 in Gouldsboro that morning. A little sugar and we could've made jam right in the field.) Approached mid 40s here, about 5° above what I'd thought. Nice wx for replacing the broken pull-starter on our snowblower. Too bad they sent the wrong piece.

Current Sun/Mon forecast for Fort Kent is 4-8", with perhaps some little bits Tues/Wed. Had 0.15" last evening and today's max (38) came about 12:01 AM. Only lost 2" of pack from the 12" after the last little storm, though sun and upper 30s might cost another inch. By tomorrow night probably back to 12". Driveway is glare ice - had to apply a half bucket of ashes so the letter carrier won't get stuck.

Had 20" of 9:1 cold sand at single digits from that storm, one of only 4 events (27 winters) to meet blizzard conditions here in the sheltered woods. Unfortunately, I never saw a flake at home - was with family in SNJ, where the forecast 12-16" verified at 1.5", all of which was gone 4 hours from final flakes. 3rd of 4 times that winter that warned storms verified at 1/8 (or less) of the low end of the forecast range. Got to shovel it all, however, getting home about 12 hours after it ended.

Jan 94 Gardiner, Maine 26 3 -16 T T 25 27 11 -21 T T 25 28 45 -1 1.61 2.5 24 29 41 18 .01 21 30 18 0 21 31 15 -10 21

January here is usually snowy - 22% of season total - but doesn't have all that many big events. After 27 winters: 10"+(47) 15"+(18) NOV 1 0 DEC 10 4 JAN 6 1 FEB 11 5 MAR 15 6 APR 4 2

Haven't heard any traffic on the club trail thru our woodlot, though I might've missed some. Had 12" at the stake this morning, but the northerly 100 yards of trail on us require 15-18" of dense pack to avoid having the groomer clanging on the rocks.

Don't own a sled but the club trail runs about 1,800 feet thru our woodlot, passing within 450 feet of the house. On a weekend day there might be 30-40 sled passes, when the trails are in good shape. We can barely hear them from inside the house, though if I listen the buzz is easily heard. (Traffic on the paved road 2,000 feet away makes more noise.) Caveats: 1. Our town holds only about 1,500 people. Next town west, Farmington (county seat) has just over 5,000. 2. There's better sledding within a 30-minute drive. Probably most on our trail ride from their dooryard. 3. That 450-foot span is thick forest, though mostly hardwoods. Summer use is limited to a few walkers and a handful of 4-wheeler passes by club members doing maintenance.

The 1998 ice storm left a nice-looking white birch bent nearly 90°. The tree was 7-8" diameter and had been 45-50 feet tall. When I noticed it was lifting a bit, I tossed a rope over it about 25 feet from the stump, attached the rope to my come-along and to another tree. Every few days I'd cinch up the rope and by mid-April the tree was back to nearly vertical. We then moved to New Sharon on May 15 so I've no idea how that birch is doing now. About 2" here, with off-on light snow, temp low 20s.

56/72 were 50-50 Februarys at our NNJ homes (moved 8 miles south in 1971). Feb 56 was a nothingburger, only 4-5". That winter's peak was in March, including a 24" dump on 18-19, the first double-digit snowfall I remember (I was 21 months old for the Dec 26-27, 1947bomb) then a 12" paste bomb in early April brought the total past 60" (avg about 40). Feb 72 was the best of a mediocre winter, with a ~10" storm in mid-month and 2 lesser storms, the month producing more than half of the winter total. I had two of those, one on each side. Did lapro on one then 2yrs later had another on other side and went with open procedure. Also have shoulder impingement, that can go from one side to the next. getting older is not fun. No shoulder surgeries but I've damaged both. At 18, I tossed a baseball 270'. Today, I might not reach 70.

In Gardiner where we lived during 95-96, DEC thru APR, first parts of months were super, last parts were awful. Snowiest by 30"+ of 13 winters there but only 5th place for SDDs. temp precip snow First parts: 81 days -6.4 11.56" 127.2" Last parts: 71 days +4.8 14.58 9.2"

Way ahead of me - only the left knee last June (may your 2nd knee be as easy as my 1st) and neck fusion in 2011. Other surgeries - prostate, and ablation for A-fib - didn't require leaving any hardware.

Slight overperformer (forecast was ~0.5") with 1.7" fluff with 0.08" LE. Looks like mostly snow tonight, maybe some ZRDZ tomorrow, 3-5" total. Fri-weekend events look rainy from this distance but no washouts.

Only one site and farther north, but here's the season-progressive chronological sequence for our biggest (15"+) snowfalls, 18 of them in 27 winters. (But only 2 in the past 7.) Only 4 have met blizzard conditions here, marked by *. Not including 25-26, snowfall thru Jan 31 has averaged 49.2", Feb 1 forward is 49.3", but 72% of the biggies have come in the 2nd half. 24.0" 12/6-7/2003 * 22.0" 12/16-18/2022 15.5" 12/21-22/2008 * 21.0" 12/29-30/2016 20.0" 1/27-28/2015 * 17.0" 2/5-6/2001 21.0" 2/10-11/2005 (thunder) 21.0" 2/12-13/2017 15.5" 2/14-15/2007 24.5" 2/22-23/2009 19.9" 3/7-9/2018 16.5" 3/13-14/2018 15.5" 3/14-15/2017 * 16.0" 3/22-23/2001 22.0" 3/23-24/2024 19.0" 3/30-31/2001 15.1" 4/1-2/2011 18.5" 4/4-5/2007

Only where the snow is gone. Otherwise, the small rodents harboring the little beasts will be snug under the pack, safe from owls and other raptors.