2021-01 First Deep Snow and Start of Winter Projects
January was when our first experience of deep snow came. It was still during the covid pandemic, and we didn’t yet have lots of outdoor clothing or equipment so we concentrated on the house.
Snow Clearing
To receive post and deliveries we had to keep the driveway clear. If you don’t clear it the snow can also set into hard thick ice that is difficult to remove with hand tools.
We’d been trying to stay on top of clearing the snow using a snow shovel and a snöbjörn but it was a losing battle. It got to the point where I’d spend an hour in the morning, about 40 minutes at midday, and an hour in the evening, plus my girlfriend digging it in between.
Snow Ploughs
Our driveway attaches to the main road that is cleared by snowploughs. I remember after a lot of physical effort over multiple hours, finally getting the driveway clear. At that very moment, a snowplough on the main road came past and buried the driveway entrance in maybe a 0.5m depth of snow to a width of about 3m into the driveway. I think at this point I admitted defeat.
We finally admitted defeat with moving the snow by hand and got the number of a nearby snow-clearing operator. I texted to ask if we could subscribe to their snow-clearing service and they came that day and visited whenever there was heavy snow, for the rest of the winter. It is really hard to put into words how awesome it was to have this massive vehicle clear everything after all the digging.
Snowmobiles
As the snowfall got deeper, we got to see our first snowmobile which was exciting. There is a snowmobile route next to the house so occasionally a few snowmobiles would go past, and queue up to carefully cross the nearby road.
Experience with Cold
The coldest we recorded outside on the thermometer was -24C. Generally, if it was -20C or worse I didn’t go out for any long period of time. If you walked from the house in indoor clothes to the postbox and back without checking the temperature when it was less than -17C then, your clothes would be deathly cold for some time.
Room Exploration
I explored a hidden room under the eves and cleared out all the old sawdust insulation from inside. There was some broken glass and I uncovered where a window would originally have been in the side of the house but had since been covered over.
Food Cellar Renovation
My project to lay a new floor in the food cellar also kicked off and I started smashing up the old concrete slab. It was a nightmare to walk buckets of rubble out of the basement and change shoes and walk the buckets outside again and repeat the process on the way back. It’s also hard to photograph in this room as it is just 2m x 3m in size.
