tamarack

For Quebecois, 1998 was "Worst since the Flood."

Another half inch of 33° RA here, with some ZR a the start.

Light ZR at 7 AM with temp about 30 but very light accretion - cold layer must be thin.

2nd batch of SN noon-2 added 0.6" for a total of 1.4". Very pretty in the woods, though no tracks were seen - the critters will probably be moving around tonight. About 3:40 I heard stuff rattling thru the trees - sounded like IP but looked like heavily rimed flakes. Some had not completely refrozen so our steps have some gritty ice, less than 0.05". With temps still about 24, the incomplete refreeze suggests that the warmer air isn't too far above.

My preference would be Nov 2018, Dec 1976 (in Ft Kent, 61.5"), Jan 2015, Feb 2017, Mar 2001 and April 2007. Comes to a bit over 250", a modest request. Maybe add Oct 2000 and this past May to boost it past 260.

Snow has resumed. The 7:20 to 10:00 spell dropped 0.8" with 0.06" LE.

Maybe say they've stayed at home, along with the 17 guests from Newark, NJ.

Short burst of moderate SN, now 1/2" but back to very light rate. Radar says "Th' th' th' that's all, folks."

And maybe farther north to the Route 2 corridor. That 0.6" of 30:1 fluff back on the 3rd didn't quite qualify as plowable, though it brought out the sand trucks. First flakes at 7:20 this morning as I was entering my 0.00 in cocorahs, now 2-3 tenths OG, so it should bring the season total to over one inch.

Have never tried raw oysters - I'd probably like them but would prefer them cooked, same as my mussel preference. (And smoked mussels are incredibly tasty.) Had cherrystones on the half shell many years ago - circa 1970. Ate the 1st one plain - mild fish/sea-aroma taste. Then my boss (4th of July picnic was at his home) suggested adding Tabasco, nearly enough to float the meat - tongue was numb for about 3 weeks. Though my wife is 2nd gen Norwegian-American we've not tried lutefisk (which I've read is eaten more often in the upper Midwest than in Norge) and I'd guess I'd like the taste but not be a fan of the texture.

Probably just my bias, but I lean toward the stuff sold by Parks and Lands at State Parks - it's tapped on the BPL tract we manage at Oquossoc Bald Mountain, a tract that holds some wonderful personal memories, including a trip to the summit with 6 grandkids and their dad 11 days ago. As for seafood, I like all that I've tried. Sushi is fine but for me, cooked is better. Pickled herring on crackers is great. Octopus is okay but mainly as a chewing exercise. Among freshwater critters, catfish, landlocked salmon and lake whitefish top my menu.

My favorite lobster-eating instructional came in 1995 when PWM was the site of the Society of American Foresters national convention. Humorist Tim Sample was cracking up the 500+ at the supper as he explained how to crack the crustacean. "Then there's the tomally - nasssty green stuff!" (While planning the convention with reps from the New England chapter, there was concern that folks wouldn't have enough time to clean up for dinner as that was field trip day. One Maine rep replied, saying that when one eats lobster, one showers after the meal.)

Truth. The bugs get a major gain in flavor as they crawl north across the order. It's just the opposite for ones that leave Cobscook Bay for Canadian waters. For me, though, it's different for crab. I've enjoyed crabmeat in Maine and on Fisherman's Wharf, but Chesapeake blues are my favorite. Had them many times while at Hopkins in the 60s (50 cents for a small but tasty one between saltines at the old Memorial Stadium on a $1 student admission) but none since some beautiful crabcakes in Hagerstown coming back from helping the kids when grandkid #1 was born in 2006 - even that far from the bay it was the real thing.

Had ours Saturday the 14th while all the grandkids were here. Four adults and 7 kids put a major dent in the 22-lb bird. I've had tofu twice in my life. It was horrendous each time....including the 2nd time when a vegetarian friend insisted "this one is really good". The concept of a "Tofurkey" sounds nightmarish. I've had tofu twice in my life. It was horrendous each time....including the 2nd time when a vegetarian friend insisted "this one is really good". The concept of a "Tofurkey" sounds nightmarish. Maybe there's some good tofu out there but I'm not actively going to search for it. Had tofu numerous times during our Japan tip in 2016. At best, it was like a near-tasteless custard. Even deep-fried it was no better than meh. I've had some veggie burgers in years past - with the proper spices, almost anything with a near-proper texture will taste good. I've no interest in trying the newer "Beyond" and "Impossible" products, especially after reading about them in Consumer Reports. The article showed that those things had similar fat (though much less saturated fat) and considerably more sodium than the real thing. The testers reported something like 4-5 ingredients in a classic veggie burger and 16 to 20+ for the newer entries. A chemical feast!

That article reminded me of one I read long ago (between classes, at the U. Maine library) in Appalachia. It's far enough back in time that the 2 stories might've been by the same author, with the more recent one based on the 1973 or 74 account.

Or when Nate Z took the teaching job in Rindge, NH, in fall 2011. Not only was the job a bummer (no support from admin) but he had less snow than he'd been getting in Dobbs Ferry.

Harris Station is indeed at the dam on the Kennebec. That's where the rafters put in to float down to The Forks. Long Falls Dam measured 56" from that storm, and I've seen that reported as Maine's biggest single snowstorm. Here is the data I have for Pinkham: 2/25/1969 27 18 2.11 21 113 2/26/1969 22 18 2.5 24.5 137 2/27/1969 26 15 1.61 27 164 2/28/1969 22 9 0.25 4.5 158 They had 130" for the month, with a 16" event during the 1st week and 30" from the "Mayor Lindsey" storm, reported on the 10th. MWN reported 97.8" from almost 15" LE. All that snow raised the pack on the summit from 22" to 26" - probably added 8-10 feet to Tucks. And I forgot to note with my "trivia" that it was for March 1993.

Had 24.6" here, which thanks to the thaws could only raise the pack from 4" to 11 - winter's "peak" as Feb 1 onward yielded only 7.8" compared to my 45" average for that half of winter. That's my only snow season since NNJ (1967-68) that never had even a 6" event.

82-foot boat out of PWM. According to what I read, CG found an empty raft and a life jacket - not good.

The 2 worst ice storms, by far (1953 and 1998) came on Jan. 8-9, a solid month and a half from today's date. For SNE, December seems the prime time, at least for the past 90 years.

And CAD-ing. LEW 37 and AUG 50 at 9 AM. Temp has rocketed up to 35 here, with moderate RA. The swamps inevitably get filled before winter.

And sometimes multiple such cycles for the same system.

That was more than a "typical noreaster" here - one of only 4 events in 22 winters to meet all the criteria for a blizzard - 12/6-7/03, 12/21-22/08 and 1/27-28/15 are the others. Terrorized our TX rescue Lab; she'd gotten somewhat used to snow as we'd had 45" in her first 2 weeks here, but the 40+ gusts plus SN+ cowed her. She stayed in my footprints long enough to step aside across the road and do her business. Without the leash she'd not have ventured 2 feet from the door. 1st 33° RA event of the season! Started with 0.1" of SN/IP - still little piles on wipers and on creases in the tarp covering the snowblower.

Back in my brief and unlamented time as the state's urban forester, I went to the national convention in Minneapolis and on a field tour thru Hennepin County we saw an area planted to burr oak at which the trees had 4-ft tree tubes. They found that when the little trees emerged rom the tubes the leaves were at the perfect height so deer could dine without having to lower their heads. (Of course, w/o the tubes those trees would never have reached even 2 feet tall.)

Curious about one of the sites in Maine that had 48-60 in Feb 1969- the point at the SW end of that color is Long Falls Dam (which sadly went off line in 2011 - at least I can no longer find its data.) Is the one to the NE Harris Dam? Farmington co-op's 43" is their biggest dump on record and their pack was 84" at the end - was Maine's deepest until Chimney Pond in Baxter Park reported 94" in 2017. Some trivia - Gardiner, Maine co-op reported 12.0" but 3 miles south at our place we had 10.3" from 1.70" LE from often rimed flakes.