Frosty but no snowman

 snow but so fluffy - no snowman

It has been an exciting couple of weeks in Montana weather.  A "typical" Montana winter sees a few big snowfalls which are followed by a slight warm up and sunny days.  These sunny days melt away most of the snow and life goes back to normal; chilly and sunny.  I remember winter-time phone calls with my dad (he living in Montana while we were living in Vermont) where I would learn that it was warmer (winter warm, not go to the beach warm) and sunnier in Montana (and less snow) than it was in Vermont...despite only a one degree longitudinal difference between the two.  Clearly longitude isn't the only factor. 😛. 

So, tons of snow isn't a common winter theme in Montana...normally.   I have heard on local news and from friends at church that they haven't seen snow like this in years...almost ten years as I understand it.  Even Jörg said it wasn't like this last winter (he arrived here one year ago and spent most of the winter here).

I think we have received two to three feet of snow over the past couple of weeks with very little sun or warm-up in between.  A little wind kicked up after one of the snows which blew the snow off the bushes in front of our windows, but that's about it.  And that wind results in drifting, which can be exciting.

What is particularly interesting (to me) is to observe how different the winters are between Vermont and Montana.  In Vermont, the snow was often wet and heavy; shoveling the snow was a real physical workout but you could usually make a good snowman out of it.  In Montana there is less humidity so the snow falls but it's powdery and light; easy to move, but there's no snowman.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our snow adventure these last couple of days.

Snow on the bushes outside our window on Monday evening.

Jörg ran a small snowblower to move the 8-10 inches of snow we received so that we could drive Katherine to work on Monday afternoon.)

Dad cleared the sidewalk so I had a nice easy walk with the groceries.  By Tuesday morning, you couldn't tell he had done anything.

To make travel through the deep snow a little easier, Jörg installed the snow chains - a new purchase since arriving in Montana - on my car.  In town (on the main road to the grocery stores and shopping) they aren't so necessary, but on all the side streets and most residential roads (including the ones leading to our apartment) they come in VERY handy.

If our motorcycle trailer has sixteen inch tires on it, you can get an idea how much snow has fallen or drifted since they are not visible anywhere on that trailer.  The garbage container next to the house (the blue one in front) stands about four feet tall.  And just behind that dumpster is another container which is protected from the wind so you can how much snow has accumulated there in the past couple of days.

This picture is misleading.  It looks like there is just a dusting of snow on the roof of my car but the reality is that when I started to brush it off (again, to get ready to take Katherine to work) it was almost eight inches high.  That's how much snow we got overnight.

Today, the snow on the bushes is higher and the branches are actually hanging just a little, despite the light weight and fluffy nature of the snow.  I think we have finally received enough snow that Livingston schools have cancelled for tomorrow.