Oh look, it’s snowing – isn’t it pretty?

I’ve been quiet here for almost 2 weeks as I try to get back to reality after our trip to Europe. It’s actually been snowing for almost 6 weeks here now, almost daily recently, so moving snow takes up a fair bit of time. The title of this post comes from a story I’ve received ny email many times, but can’t find online anywhere, about how pretty the first snows are, but not so much later in the season πŸ™‚

The first step in dealing with the snow when we got home was to get our winter gear out of the storage racks in the barn. What a surprise to see that the squirrels have already taken control of the best pair of boots for winter storage of mushrooms and pine nuts! Not bad near the top, but rather slimy and mouldy down at the bottom πŸ™

Now to get the plow mounted on the old truck. Both truck and plow have a lot of miles on them.

Snow Bear plow

The frame is getting quite out of line and mounting it gets tougher every year. This may be its last year of work without doing some major work on the frame, or buying a new one. It was invaluable when I lived in Carcross, and it’s paid for itself several times over in what I saved by not having to hire anyone.

Snow Bear plow

Once you get going, it moves a lot of snow with very little effort. Most people are surprised by how little snow we get in the Yukon in a normal year, and how incredibly light the snow is.

Plowing snow in the Yukon
Plowing snow in the Yukon

Once the main lines are done with the truck plow, the snowblower moves the snow in some of the berms, and some of the tighter areas, far way. That’s not a big deal early in the season, but by Spring can make a big difference.

Moving snow in the Yukon

Even with all the machinery, there are still some areas that need hand work – the stairs and deck…

Shoveling snow in the Yukon

… and the upper deck.

Shoveling snow in the Yukon

You might wonder where my huskies are through all this, since huskies love snow and would surely like to get involved in this process. My guys, not so much – this is what I went in the house to find after 3Β½ hours of work! zzzzzzzzz πŸ™‚

Lazy huskies!