Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Winter of 2008......


...in pictures.

I only have a "lost & found" camera with thirteen pictures, but we have been using it, just to record that "we were here" until the new camera is chosen and purchased.


Here is our season, soon to end this month.




Sarah snowboarding, with the ever-present view of Mount Shasta


Maddelyn skiis



Snow, trees, sky.....at the ski park



Different angle


We had a very intersting storm in February, where the wind blew the snow drifts different than usual. Below are pictures to prove this point.



This view was taken outside my front door, from the level of a mouse




Another view out the front door.




Those are my chimes, a gift from Marty...they make beautiful Gregorian music in the wind storms. Lovely.





So, the girls room window looked like this. Usually it is because snow sticks to the window. This time, it was because the snow piled up in front of their window. Anne wrote that she was "living in a snow globe" :)




The boys room windows had just a bit less in front of the window.




A little color this winter, from a castle Malachy worked hard to build.





The Honda is almost missing under the snow drifts.





The view on the side of the garage.
The little building is our school room.....the rest belongs to the neighbors.




Another view of the almost missing Honda.



Two snow shovelers.......Matthew & Garrett......shoveled for four days.



There is often a wave on the south side of our house. Notice almost NO snow on the ground outside my bedroom window. The wave is about 4 feet high.


Same "happy" shovelers.

Kids all over the country are excited for snow days!
The kids at Our Hearts' Haven KNOW it is nothing to be excited about........it creates LOTS of work. :)



Well, truthfully.........they love the snow, the way it looks, the way it covers the slopes for skiing and boarding......but, it is a huge commitment to keep things cleared. Boy is Matthew going to be missed next winter. :) Especially since Marty has not needed to go on the roof for two seasons now........that will end in 2010.




Behind the house, the snow blocks the boys' window. This was an unusual drift for us.



Now you see behind the garage.....and the girls' window is blocked as well. The drift on the roof was different. It usually is not as tall, unless we get 8 feet.




More drifts behind the house. Some of the drifts were 8-10 feet........it was crazy. It kind of looked like peaks of whipping cream. BIG ones!





More drifts & peaks.




More......see how close to the roofline for that drift.




Another angle.....notice less snow on the ground.




Four foot drift on the roof.........waiting for Matthew to remove.




Even the old blue beast........Suburban........invited drifts.



Drift directly up close is the Honda from the front. There is our porch.



The boys dug a tunnel when they cleared the snow from behind the garage.




Another angle of the tunnel.........I hit my head hard lifting it too soon!



The tunnel actually had a cave in the side.......the dogs thought this was clever. :)




Ten-foot drift below, four-feet above..........Matthew starting to remove it.




Wider angle of all



Sadie standing while I dug out a path to the school room..........she was acting strange that day.......and kept right behind me.



Matthew up on top.......knocked out another 4-foot drift from above.



Same....



For some reason, Matthew purposely dumped snow on the tunnel!




The man-child.............well, he is 18 years old....I guess he is a man?

We sure are going to miss him!



Malachy worked hard to create a new friend all by himself. The snowman kit we got handed down from Shawna came in handy! Of course, the supplies were at risk from dogs who like to chew things.



Close-up....that's a fake carrot! I like how the hat chin-tie gives him a smiling face!



Looking for the tennis ball in the deep snow. :)




Work & play, side by side.



Malachy taking advantage of the ten feet!




At the bottom.




It's HARD work up there!



Close-up of Matthew working



Hey! I am taller than the roof!



In the down direction.



The next day, the bare-er spots melted enough for a nap.



Garrett took these dog photos........and woke them up here.



This was two days later........after more snow.



We can barely see the old blue beast.



What Garrett, Matthew and Malachy look like after three days of shoveling............one more came the next day!

Those storms above were in February.........a few days ago, already in March, I think.......we had one of those beautiful, perfect snowfalls.......whereby the snow came straight down, no wind, accumulating fast and furious. The snow was so light and soft. Reminded Marty & I of our Tahoe days. We used to go for late night walks in these kind of storms. These photos below are from that storm.


The flakes are falling.


The picnic table.....during the storm...this fell in about three hours.


The morning after........I was up before the sun rose.....as usual.



The morning after......our apple tree.....and orchard.




The view of the back of thr property.......orchard, berries, swingset & fort.




The view to the south, from my bedroom.



The view in the front of our house.


The picnic table the next morning.

The photos below were taken yesterday...........on the way to and at the ski park.




The view as you drive by on the freeway.



Mount Shasta, in her glory




A different angle of Mt. Shasta....as you climb up to the ski park.

As you drive upward, and come around a curve, there it is......glorious!





The "Face" of Douglas, a run at the ski park.




You can see Mount Lassen from the ski park parking lot.

The kids tell me the views from the tops of the runs and lifts are simply breathtaking.




Another take on Mount Lassen, another volcano in the Pacific Ring of Fire.




The ski park from the west end of the parking lot.




I was walking by and this little tree sticking out of the snow caught my eye.

It was only about 2 feet tall..........and had a great background!


I love taking different angles of Mount Shasta........especially in different seasons.


I am ready now......SPRING, let's go!



Love & blessings!


Chari

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where will Matthew be when he goes to school? You should take that boy out to dinner! He worked REALLY hard this winter! You got SO much more snow than we did, and we got a lot. It is 98% melted now. How do you guys get out?

Great photos!
Love,
Frances

Chari said...

Well, I will be announcing it soon.......Matthew is not going away to school....yet. He has been accepted as a Rotary Youth Exchange Participant. More on that later!

Sometimes the amount of snow can be really different.....only 10 miles.....15? apart? Crazy, isn't it?

We get out.......by 4 wheel drive cars........and sometimes by digging them out, first.

It has been the rare time that we had to wait for the plow......which could take a day or more!