December Snow

Although we had a few dustings in November, we didn't get our first real snow until December.

The snow started on the 10th and we ended up with almost 6 feet for the month.

This shot looks up at the lodge from the boardwalk.

This is snow flowing off the roof of the shop (it flows slowly--sort of like a glacier).

Looking down the boardwalk to the dock.

Jen clearing snow on the dock--she has fun at everything!

Getting aboard to shovel the Bob.

We have to "rake" the snow off the baitshed so the float won't sink.

Once the snow is off, we shovel or use the snowblower to get it off the dock.

This year, we have another floathouse to shovel that is anchored out in Schooner Cove, a small cove inside Warm Springs Bay.

The small area of the cove sometimes freezes solid, but we were able to push through the slush to get to the floathouse.

Approaching the floathouse.

We get out once a week or so to clear the snow off the float so it doesn't sink.

This was about 14 inches of snow.

The next time we tried to get in, the slush had frozen solid.

This was as close as the sun came to coming over the horizen at the solstice.

So far, we have not lost power or water during the cold spells, although we've come close. We have an overflow that we open under the deck in front of the lodge during cold weather so there is always water moving through the waterline and it won't freeze. We also run faucets and keep water flowing through the toilet to prevent lines from freezing.

We've had some damage from snow and ice ripping the built in rain gutters off, so we rake the snow off to keep the pressure from building too high. We just take the gutters off of the other buildings.

Every time it snows, we have to clear it off the top of the woodpile and dig the tarps out so we can get more wood when we need it.

We have two Honda snowblowers to help remove the snow. The tough part is clearing behind the lodge where the roof sheds. If we don't keep this area clear, the snow builds up over the windows to the roof and the roof can't shed anymore.

All fall I would occasionally start up the snowblowers and move them around to make sure they were ready. On the first real snowfall, I started one up and began moving it to the area I wanted to clear. It went about 10 yards before one cable broke, the other froze, and the belt snapped. The second snowblower's still running like a champ while we wait for parts to fix the first one.