Spring Thaw

On Saturday I decided that Chandler and I needed to get out for a short hike. We hadn't been in the woods since early December due to the sheer amount of snow that had fallen this winter. The front lawn had reappeared this week, after some sustained warmer temperatures and several days of rain, so it seemed likely that some of the trails must have defrosted also. I didn't want to deal with steep hills that might still be icy or a creek likely to be raging from snowmelt and rain, so we headed out to J.B. Williams Park.

The entrance was a bit icy, but it looked like significant portions of the trails were clear as Chandler and I headed off on the trail. The park looked to be mostly deserted and Chan has a good recall, so I let him off leash to sniff and run. I soon found out that a significant portion of the trails were still icy.

That dark area is where the rainwater
has melted out the ice and left a channel.

However, it turned out that the ice and snow were largely limited to the trail areas behind the wooded hill that is located in the center of the park. For today, I limited our walk to the broad track that circles the hill. I must say I was disappointed in the amount of dog waste visible on the snowy parts of the trail. This particular park has a lot of trash cans available, so there isn't a lack of places to put it. When the trail totally thaws in a few weeks, there will be toddlers and parents with strollers all over it; not picking up after your dog under those conditions is largely inexcusable in my opinion.

See, the snow has mostly melted at the top of the hill here.

Chan and I traveled along the path to the upper pond area, one of my favorite parts of the park. Unfortunately the pond has silted up and now it mostly resembles a stream. For the first time, we ran across some damage from the excessive snows of winter.

This bird house is looking a bit droopy.

There was more damage as I followed Chandler to the stream that leads into the upper pond.
The concrete bridge that crosses the stream was missing its metal railing. It looked like part of a nearby pine had fallen upon it and snapped it off. Only one pole was standing.

It looks like they cut down the tree that fell on it.
See it off to the right?

Chandler ignored the minor changes and made a beeline for his favorite shallow pool in the stream. It's backed by a tiny waterfall and he likes to lie down in the water and wallow. I swear he must think he is a Labrador.

Cold water?
Oh come on, it is only snowmelt and it is over 40 degrees today!

After soaking, Chan entertained himself by checking out the trails and burrows of some small rodents near the edge of the pond.

Critters! Lemme at them!

Chandler also amused himself by leaping on one of the picnic tables that were scattered around the upper pond picnic and camping area.

Picnic table? I thought it was a jungle gym!

I leashed Chandler soon after leaving the upper pond because we were heading toward the lower pond which is much larger and deeper. Given Chan's danger-prone tendencies, my paranoia wasn't about to give him a chance to zoom out onto thin ice, no matter how unconcerned he was with cold water. It turned out to be a good precaution.

How unfair!
She would not let me check out the bottles spilling out of that trash can!
Hey, how did it get out there anyway?

After checking out the pond, we backtracked to head for the trail that goes past the children's play area. I'd heard that the pavilion had not survived the snows, and wanted to see what was left. It turned out that the wreckage of the pavilion had been totally demolished and removed, but the kitchen and bathrooms that stood next to it were still intact.

Wow, it looks like they plowed a path to get everything out.
That's the kitchens on the right.
The big empty spot to the left of it was where the pavilion stood.

The sheer destructive power of the collapse was evident when I examined the metal picnic tables that had been under the pavilion's roof. They were all bent and twisted.

I didn't climb on these. Mom said there might be sharp edges.

The good news is that the town is planning to replace the pavilion ASAP. J.B. Williams is one of the town's most popular parks, and there is a long list of reservations every summer to use the facilities. Hopefully they will be able to get something constructed in time for the spring picnic season.

Hiking in December

Long ago, in a land far away...

Ok, it just feels like that after an entire month of two foot snowpack. We're not used to that around here. I swear, people are still shoveling off their roofs.

Anyway...over a month ago, Chandler and I went hiking with friends in southern Connecticut. The snow was less than a foot deep, the air was pleasantly brisk, and the two English Shepherds and one Border Collie got along well.

That's Helo on the left, me in the middle,
and Kinnon the Border Collie on the right.
I like being on point.

The snow was probably about 10 inches deep, just enough to make it easier to stick to the trail that had been blazed through the preserve by an ATV. The dogs had a lot of fun running along the trails and through the deeper snow.

That's Helo running.

Another photo of Helo.
Mom is extremely envious of how much easier
it is to photograph shaded sables in the snow.

The dogs were having a great time just trotting ahead and sniffing, but the real excitement started when Kinnon decided to grab his owner's scarf and take off with it. Unfortunately for Kinnon, Chandler is a party boy, and thought that playing keep away with the scarf was a great game...if he had the scarf. As a result, Chander quickly confiscated it and took off.

I've got the scarf! I've got the scarf!!!

Kinnon took off in pursuit...

I've got the scarf! You can't get it!

...but he quickly backed off as Helo decided to get into the game. The two English Shepherds have more assertive temperaments than Kinnon, so the Border Collie seemed to decide that scarf chasing was a spectator sport as long as the other two were around.

Hey, when did you start chasing me?

Trying to grab it, eh?

Ok, I've still got the scarf...at least this end of it.

Eventually the scarf was rescued from the dogs, slightly worse for wear. I'm now pondering whether a cheap brightly colored scarf would be a good investment as a dog toy for future hikes...or an invitation to bad behavior. Maybe a long braided tug would be a better option.

The upshot of the entire scarf chase was that Helo decided that Chandler was Mr. Fun.

Helo really, really wants me to play.

From what I understand, he doesn't play with other dogs very often after having some bad experiences, so it was a treat to see him plowing through the snow after Chandler.

Uh oh, he's almost got me.

Whee! Escaped!!!!!!!!!

Dodge! Dodge!

Oh yeah? You want to play chicken?

It was also a real treat for Chandler. He loves to play with other dogs, but I have to be very careful which dogs he plays with because of his loose hips. Chandler has a long fuse before he stands up for himself, and prefers to avoid problems rather than start an argument in most cases. If we encounter a bully that won't let Chandler stop running, we have problems. The big risk is Chandler overstressing his hips trying to get away. But if we find the right dogs that allow pauses in play, things are great and everyone has fun. This hike had a very good mix of dogs, and I think all had a good time.

It is nice to have friends. :)

Around the neighborhood

We've got over two feet of snow here in Connecticut. It's difficult to say how much at the moment, due to drifting, minor melting, and freezing rain. The bottom line is that it is pretty deep out there, and that has been putting some unfortunate restrictions on Chander's exercise. He's not fond of bounding through deep snow. Usually he makes a few bounces, and then decides to settle in and start snacking on the stuff. There isn't anyplace cleared enough for hiking, so we have been limited to walks around the neighborhood.

These walks are far from boring however. In this weather we are practically guaranteed to meet people chipping at ice on their driveway or attempting to find their mailbox in a snowbank. In many ways it has been great for Chandler's continued socialization. However, on Saturday I really wished I had brought my camera. We encountered the local volunteer fire department and their ladder truck while walking by the elementary school. They were busy strapping a snowblower to the underside of the ladder truck's platform. It isn't every day that you get to see a snowblower danging thirty feet in the air while it is being lifted onto a school roof! Chandler was unfortunately less thrilled than me, but I could not really blame him.

Afterward I thought that it might be nice to chronicle one of our walks through the neighborhood, so I took my camera on Sunday. We didn't see any firetrucks, but I did take some photos that show the amount of snow in the area.

As you can see, we are still dealing with the "snow canyons". Most of our walk takes place on a thin strip of sidewalk bounded by high walls of snow. We're very lucky that the entire neighborhood has sidewalks and that the vast majority of the residents are very good about keeping them clear.

*grumble* I can't see much because the snow is so high!

This is a typical driveway. Everyone has huge piles of snow. One of the common complaints on Saturday was that people were running out of places to put it.

Yes, this is what the view would be if I could see over the walls of snow.

In many places the plow has left a snowbank covering a significant portion of the side of the road. It is like our two lane streets have suddenly become narrow one lane roads. This has caused some difficulties with mailboxes, as many are now up to six feet away from the open part of the road. Some people have carved out large chunks of the snowbank so the postman can get to their mailbox.

Mailman? I really don't like the mailman. Whuff!

Others go for a more minimalist approach.

Ok, he does bring me things so I'll admit he's not all bad.
But I still don't have to like him.

With the lack of running exercise, it seems to me that Chandler is acting a bit more silly. One of his favorite things to do is flop down in the middle of a walk and roll in the snow.

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

One important concern when there is this much snow is making sure that the fire hydrants are all accessible. The volunteer fire department can't uncover all of them, so local homeowners are encouraged to help out and make sure they are clear. Whoever cleared this one did a really good job; there is a large area cleared around the hydrant and openings to both the street and the sidewalk.

No, I did not pee on it. That would be too cliché.

Many of the houses have icicles on them.

Yawn. Icicles. Boring.
You can't chew on them if they are stuck to a house.

Some of the icicles have gotten a bit large.

Ok, those two are almost at chewing level...

Some houses have entire sides covered with them.

Not safe? You won't let me get near them? Awwww...

As can be seen in the previous photo, many houses still have their Christmas decorations. I think many have been left where they are because snow has made it so difficult to take then down. However, some decorations must be kept current.

Football? I think I've fetched one of those once.

Unfortunately, because of the cycles of snow, sleet, and freezing rain we have been experiencing, some homeowners have a bit more trouble clearing their sidewalks. I've been very grateful for my snow cleats. I suspect that I would have taken many falls this season without them.

This is the icy downhill sidewalk of death.
I'm not in the photo because I have to walk behind when we get to this hill.

However, the sidewalks are generally preferable to the streets, where the huge snowbanks make it difficult for motorists to see pedestrians. Crossing a street should be done with great caution. Fortunately, many of the people in the corner houses have kindly tunneled through snowbanks so people can quickly return to the sidewalks. Some of these openings can be ten feet long.

They're very popular places for scent marking too!

Unfortunately, not everyone is good about tunneling from the sidewalk to the street. I guess the snow piles can be intimidating.

We end up walking to the tunnel by the mailbox
when we cross this intersection.

Portions of the landscape end up seeming very unfamiliar. That white mound to the right is a holly bush. No, really. It is a bush. See the leaves?

Believe it or not, there is a post and rail fence under there too.

I did mention Chandler likes to roll whenever the snow is not too deep, didn't I?

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

This is a sight you see on many of the houses. People have taken snow rakes and tried to clear snow off the edges of their roof. With all that snow melting on the roof, there is a risk of ice dams forming in the gutters. More than a few houses around the neighborhood are experiencing water damage because the melting snow cannot flow away through the blocked gutters.

Yes, all week there has been at least one person in the neighborhood
trying to clear their roof, every time we walk

Some of those ice dams can be very impressive. Here are some neighbors posing with a block of ice that has been chiseled off the edge of their roof. You can't see it in the photo, but that block was at least four inches thick.

I like visiting them.
The man once gave me cheese while he was barbecuing hamburgers.

...and here is the roof from which that ice came.

It looks like there is a lot more ice up there.

Fortunately for my family, we really haven't had those sorts of problems with ice. My parents are very much into home insulation, so very little heat escapes through our roof. However, the sheer weight of over two feet of snow can be a bit worrisome. There have been several roof collapses in Connecticut over the last week or so. With several more storms predicted, something needed to be done about the problem. Unfortunately, Chandler wasn't quite as happy as the rest of us about the solution.

Ack! Rooftop invaders with highly suspicious shovels!
Woof! Woof! Woof!

However, that is a tale for a later time.

Photo Friday: The steps

Ok, I'm ready for spring now...

Really, 10 inches of snow was the highest prediction I had heard.
Instead we got over a foot, making this the snowiest month on record ever in Connecticut.

Maybe I should have taken it as a bad omen when the heavy construction equipment showed up during yesterday morning's flurries.



They moved most of the massive snow pile on our side of the circle to the other side of the circle. With the equipment, they managed to make the pile more vertical than it had been on our side of the street. The neighbor's house is on a small hill. The snow pile was almost as tall as the hill when they were finished.



This left room for the plow to make new gigantic snowbanks this morning. I sent Chandler up onto the new snowbank, and he laid down at the top. He's the black blob visible in the photo, in front of the neighbor's garage. Behind him is the old snowbank, now covered with a nice layer of new snow.


Maybe they'll melt by June?

The aftermath.

The plow finally cleared out the circle around 9 p.m. last night. We've been left with a massive snowbank that is about 10 feet high, 20-30 feet thick, and perhaps 40 feet long.

That's me at the base of the snowbank, wearing my blue coat.

The plow could not push all the snow to the side, so it spreads out into the circle. My father dug a 10 foot path to the neighbor's mailbox so they could get their mail. Chandler thinks the snowbank is great fun to climb on.

Woohoo! King of the snowbank!