John Farrell’s blog

This Winter has all the features of a prize fight with the next winter storm being Round 5. We’ve already had 5 ft. of snow with the current forecast being for 16 - 20 more inches on Tue-Wed. That will smash all records for accumulated snowfall for this region, along with a lot of property, no doubt. Donna and I traveled down Ivy Mill this afternoon and were surprised to see many trees had fallen over the road and been removed to the side of the road. There are many others ready to go with the next storm. At least there are no power feeder lines along that road. We were surprised how many driveways have not been cleared yet. If they’re out of town, they should stay there for a long time.

Mike and friends came to visit last night to sled down our hill but the snow was too deep. He said our road was pretty bad, which is usually the case right after a storm. They left here looking for greater adventures, which his tweets indicate they found.

We think we ended up with 27 - 28 inches - it’s hard to tell for sure because of the wind. The official total for areas close by were about 27 inches. It’s interesting how fast the snow compacts in the sunlight. Snow depth at mid-day is already down to 21 - 22 inches. Nonetheless, this snow will be with us for a long time.

Thankfully, our power never went out - all the storms we had this Summer and Fall must have cleared the trees waiting to come down on our feed lines. I’m still glad we installed the emergency generator. BGE reported that nearly 8,000 homes lost power in Baltimore County - been there and done that but no more.

Our good neighbor cleaned our driveway with his tractor and front end loader. The piles at the edge are more than 5 feet high! At 6AM this morning, and again around 9AM, the County was cleaning the roads with backhoe/loader equipment. First time we’ve seen them do that but it worked pretty good - they even cleaned the snow over the ends of the driveway.

I refilled the bird feeders this morning as they were emptied during the storm. I had to dig out under the feeders so the squirrels can’t jump from the top of the snow when it hardens - they’re not out running around yet but it won’t be long.

Apparently, the accumulated snowfall so far this Winter is about 1 inch from the record for this area, and we’ve still go more than 5 weeks until Spring. We’ve already exceeded 5 feet of snow The storm forecast for Tuesday is for 6 inches, which would shatter the old record. Six feet of snow is easily within reach.

Oh, well, we have keep thinking that Spring is fast approaching and the water from the snow melt will fill the swimming pool.

Now this is a snow storm, even by NY State standards! We’re close to 2 ft now, headed to about 3 ft when we’re done. This is a good one, for sure!

Yesterday morning we attended a funeral for the husband of a friend. It started snowing as we were driving to the funeral home at 11AM. At the cemetery, the snow was light and melting on the roads and grounds, which was actually better than rain would have been. Traveling throughout the afternoon was easy. It wasn’t until after 5PM that the temperature dropped below freezing and the snow started to accumulate.

At 9AM this morning, there was 18 - 22 inches of snow where we were out cleaning around the house. The local weather service is reporting 22 inches nearby - there is definitely more snow at this time than the December storm. The winds had died down from during the night when there was a lot of drifting. I awoke briefly before 5AM and heard thunder but did not see any lightning. Wbaltv.com is forecasting another 10-12 inches by the end of the storm tonight.

Donna and I cleaned some heavy snow from trees close to the house, especially Jack’s Magnolia and the big Scotch Pine. Donna dug out the front walkways while I dug out the emergency generator in case it is needed. It was buried and could have choked on the snow if it had tried to start. I also dug out around the heat pump for the garage side of the house. It was about half buried because it sits about 4 ft high. The gas fireplace is working good. We’re good to go for now!

The local news reports 33,000 people are without power around Baltimore. We had the emergency generator installed this Fall, which probably means we’ll never lose power again - a small price to pay for that security. One benefit of all the snow this Winter is the swimming pool will be full when Spring arrives. It was drained this Fall when renovated and then half filled before being closed. I checked the water during the thaw in January and it was near the top step so it is on schedule to be full in April. It’s hard to envision swimming right now but it is a pleasant thought.

At 11AM, it’s snowing harder with bigger flakes - thankfully, the winds are light. The bird feeders are attracting many birds. The post the feeders are on is 7 ft high but it looks much, much shorter right now. The backyard looks like a flat plane with all the bushes covered. Some of the outdoor furniture can still be seen but they are slowly being covered, too.

Pappy’s dog, Big Red, doesn’t know what to make of the snow. He’s less than a foot high so it is overwhelming to him but he has some paths cleared for him to go outside near the house.

2010 is more than a new year, it is also the start of a new decade. We’re encouraged that this new decade will be a good one! The past decade was a challenging one. We miss our loved ones who have gone before us - Grace, Jack, Jarrett and Marion. We rejoice in the additions to our family - Mickey, Alicia and Sarah. One of the most consistent things about life is it is always changing. We have no choice but to take the bad with the good, trusting that God is in control and will work all things out for the good…

As far as this Winter is concerned, it is a real one! This area hasn’t had much snow the past few Winters so we are due for lots of snow, and it’s happening. With the December storms plus the 5.5 inches of snow last Fri-Sat and the 5 inches last night, accumulated snowfall so far is more than 3 ft. I just read that another storm is predicted for this coming Fri-Sat with an additional 15 inches, and the forecasters see more snow next Tue-Wed. Let it snow!

While this is abnormal weather for this area, it is mild for Upstate New York, where we moved from, where 200 inches (more than 16 ft.) a year is normal - one of the reasons we moved away! There is a weather video on AccuWeather.com about ice falling from the sky in Richmond, which is actually from an office building. The building entrance had to be closed for people protection - a good idea!

As one that watches the weather forecasts closely, I occasionally check The Old Farmers Almanac against the weather services and what actually happens. In some years, The OFA has good weather forecasts, and in some years they don’t - not unlike the National Weather Service. So far, The OFA has forecast rain when we have gotten snow. February is forecast to be warmer and dryer than normal but the opposite is happening and expected. So much for The OFA? Anyway, we can’t do anything about the weather except talk or write about in blogs… just like the weathermen but we don’t get paid for what we do.

Be encouraged though, Spring arrives in 6 weeks so this won’t last too long!

This was a good snow storm but not a record setter or nearly as bad as predicted. The final accumulation where we live was about 17 inches over a 24 hour period. Some areas around us reported 20 + inches. It appears the worst of the storm was slightly East of us. The high winds forecasted never happened. We’re thankful that it wasn’t worse, and especially thankful for our neighbor Bob, who worked through the storm to keep our driveway plowed, and then came back the next day to help with the clean up, as did my son, Mike. This will give us a white Christmas, which is a rare event in this region. Everything is beautiful as we offically start Winter today.

One last comment - I checked the Farmer’s Almanac for 2010 just to see what they predicted. Their forecast for the period of the storm was warm weather and heavy rain, so they got it half right.

This is a pretty good snow storm but the residents of Upstate NY would laugh at calling this a blizzard. Snowfall began around 11PM last night. At 2PM, I measured 12.5 inches of snow. My calculation says that is 15 hours so the snowfall is less than 1 inch per hour, which is one of the criteria for a blizzard as we learned and experienced living 10+ years in NY. The other criteria is wind, which is predicted to blow over 30 mph but hasn’t started yet. If that happens, this will be something because the snow is dry and will easily blow into some big drifts.

Over the past 12 years, I have had a number of eye problems and surgeries. Most of this fun happened over a two year period. Then there was a span of 8 years when everything was good. In 2008, I had a small detachment in my right eye that was repaired using lasers. Early this year in April, I had symptoms of another detachment in the right eye but the doctor couldn’t find any physical evidence. As time went forward, the symptoms would come and go from time to time. This was unusal so the plan was to wait to see if the symptoms got bad enough that physical proof was easily found. All this happended at the end of last week and over the weekend. I e-mailed my surgeon on Sunday that it was time for him to examine me again. He told me to see him on Tuesday when he easily found the physcial proof of the detachment. He operated on Wednesday. The detachment had developed over a large area of the right side of the retina but was easily reattached. The other good news is it had not reached the macula to cause permanent vision damage.

I’m very thankful that Dr. Randall Wong tolerates me as a patient. He has moved his practice from the Baltimore area to the Washington, DC area. His office is now only a few miles from where I was raised. We keep in touch via e-mail between examinations, and he is always flexible to see me as the situation requires. It is a bit of a drive to see him but I wouldn’t trust anyone else as much as I do him.

This past Monday, August 31, the sale of the Spangler house was completed. We left our home in Maryland at 9 AM and returned that evening at 10:30 PM. We had lunch with Donna’s Dad’s sister and her family. We spent time at the house and at the family grave site. We met the buyer at the house prior to closing when she showed up for final inspection. Closing was quick - it took less than 30 minutes. After closing, we went to dinner with Donna’s Mother’s sisters and a cousin. Donna’s brother and Dad took off for a week together. We traveled home. A long and emotional day. Yogi is right, of course, that “it ain’t over ’til it’s over.” Well, it’s over…

On August 8, the extended Spangler family visited the house in Nazareth to take “stuff” as mementos and things they can use in their homes. We’re sure that Marion would have been very happy that so much was taken by so many people she loved.

The following weekend, we moved the things we wanted and tried to give away all the rest. Donna set signs in the yard that the things outside were free, and about 95% of what was set in the yard was taken by neighbors and others driving by. It was great. We hope they all enjoy everything they took.

On August 16, we loaded up a 16 ft. moving truck and made the long drive to MD, where Dan and Mike helped unload everything and take away the things brought for them. Now we have to figure out how and where to put everything else. We need to get rid of a dining room table and chairs to make room for the one we brought with us. I’m sure we’ll find a good home for them. Lots of other smaller items… lots… Now we have to get serious and continue the clean out of our house.

In the middle of all that was going on, the first anniversary of Marion’s sudden death was on August 15. The family put flowers at the grave site in a very emotional time together.

Closing of the sale was scheduled for August 24 but it now appears to have been delayed a week because of a financing curve ball. Nonetheless, the house is empty of everything we wanted. The rest is being hauled away this week. The roof problems will be repaired, and the water stained living room wall will be primed and painted. We hope and pray that is all that needs to be done… but as Yogi is famous for saying “it ain’t over until it’s over.”

The Spangler house in Nazareth, PA is under contract for sale.
An agreement was reached some six weeks after the house was first listed, which we feel is very good in this market. The buyer is a local family that wants to close by August 24 so their kids can start school in their new home. We are hustling to make that deadline but it is doable. Having a motivate buyer is a good thing. We are happy that a local family is moving in.

We survived the Golden Birthday thunderstorm.
This past Sunday, we hosted a Golden Birthday party for our beloved daughter-in-law Sarah. At the height of the party, a very strong thunderstorm hit the area we live in, knocking out the power and causing all sorts of damage to trees, closing a number of local roads. The storm only lasted a few minutes. The water level in our pool rose more than an inch from the heavy rain. The rain was so heavy we could not see features in our back yard. The hail damaged the table cloth on the picnic table with small tears all across the surface. The wind driven rain first came strongly from the West and then suddenly changed direction to come from the East. This is characteristic of tornado conditions. Trees in woods adjacent to our property were uprooted and broken. It was a real mess. Through it all, the party continued. We are thankful that there was no serious damage to our home or the cars parked on the street or the people attending the party. The power outage lasted almost exactly 43 hours, which is a spiritually significant number - that, however, is another story…