These photos were taken within the past few days at my home in Caribou, Maine.  

To the left, is the view out the west side door, onto our backyard. The drifting from the north whips around the house and we’ve got a nice wall of snow on the north and west sides of the house. We’ve tried to keep up with it, but after the last storm, the drifting has caused some hard packing around doors and windows.

The snow has drifted high this year. The drier, lighter snow will easily be carried by the 25 mph winds.

You can click on the pictures and see an enlarged view. Then back your browser to return to this page. On the left again is a view of the north side of the house, you can see the height of the drift.

The side streets have become narrower because of drifting and the city hasn’t been able to keep up with keeping them widened - no place to put the snow. The banks are high. They come around and haul snow away in trucks.

The high winds and tall banks of packed snow do not deter my dog from venturing out. The hardpack allows him to climb to the peak so he can see out across his domain and communicate with the other neighborhood dogs. On the right is his snow wall.

Left is a view from the dining room, a north-side window. The high winds during the last blast caused the drifting up against the windows. Other people living in more open areas report higher drifting than this.

Well, it happened. According to the National Weather Service at Caribou:

From beginning of the 2007-2008 snowfall season through midnight March 20, 2008, the National Weather Service in Caribou, ME has recorded 182.5 inches of snowfall. This morning’s measurement (21 March) puts the total at 184.5 inches. This seasonal snowfall total is the greatest amount ever, since records began in 1939. The previous record of 181.1 inches was set in the 1954-1955 snowfall season. … 184.5 inches equals 15 feet, four and one-half inches.

Now the wind is howling and we’re trying to keep up with the drifting. I’ll take a photo of what I see out my window and post soon.

Looks like Caribou may break the snowfall record if this current storm delivers. Meteorologists are calling for another 9-12 inches over the next 36 hours, so that will push the total just past the 181-inch record for the season.  We’re prepared for it in this household. The city has been trying to widen the sidestreets as they have become one-lane with the snowbanks closing in. Our roof has been cleared off twice and it’s a good thing - it’s been an issue this year for many people. And why a business would have a flat roof in snow country is beyond me. There have been collapses and a lot of property damage because of it.

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But Spring is coming and we should have quite a mud season this year. The ground has a shallow freeze this year, so the snow will melt and we’ll have lots of lovely mud. Then, all of a sudden, everything will be green. I never knew how many shades of green there were until I lived here. If any artists have fallen on this blog, you ought to take a visit to Aroostook County, Maine. The vistas are wonderful.

Theo loves BSG. For fans like us, BSG’s final season is a highlight of Spring. Bittersweet, tho.

If you haven’t been following the show, you can get a very brief catchup at the SciFi location: http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/ in a humorous summary of the plot twists and character relationships. But go rent the first season DVD. If you don’t get hooked in the first 3-hour segment, it’s not your thing. But this is no cheap scifi or imitation of the original series. It has its own depth. I don’t get hooked on tv shows but I really like this one. Character driven, the writing and performances draw you in.

My laptop wallpaper was downloaded from polygeek.

The snow is piling up everywhere, even after the two melts we’ve had. This winter we’ve cleared off the roof twice.I think the total for the season is near 140 inches, which is about at third place in the records. Today another system is here and it has been snowing steadily all day and expected to continue tomorrow. 

Winter sports enthusiasts are apparently happy and the CanAm dog sled races are underway. If you’d like to see what’s going on there, visit their site http://can-am.sjv.net . Not the prettiest site, but has lots of information and maps.