As with much of the rest of the country,
the last half of December brought snow and cold.
We had a low of -20°F one night and several days never
went above 0°F;
it seemed balmy when it got into the 20's one day.
On two occasions the low temperature sensor for the Mud Room
set off the alarm system and brought Dan and Jennie up to try
to restore peace and quiet —
we have a
klaxon
sound at the Carriage House as well as the Main House in
case we are away when something goes wrong.
Gary had the sensor replaced with one that trips at 40
(rather than 50)
degrees and put
automatic heat tape
on the pipes in the Mud Room.
The large pile of snow to the northeast of the house is one
of three piles accumulated from clearing the upper parking
area.
While living in Canada,
Gary learned to push the early season snow far enough away
to make room for the end of the season snow.
In addition to this pile,
there are large piles at the lower parking area,
several piles at the very bottom of the drive and snow banks
along the length of the drive.
The huge piles we have built up west of the Carriage House
serve a purpose:
they have twice prevented Arthur's friends from going over
the edge when they descended the drive too fast.
Each time we plow puts between 6 and 8 miles on the truck.
