Ice In (All of My) Space (damnit..)!

[Tannehill]

After my year in Australia, I was spoiled. Upon arrival back in Wisconsin last week, reality dealt me a harsh cold and icy smack on the chops.

This is what my house looks like here. We've received 2 meters of snow this year - with an interval thaw, thank the stars - and another 6-8" due tonight... And THIS is all "old" snow, being more than 10 days old.

Observing? Hah. Not bloody likely, when the temperature a few weeks back was...well, did you know that at -44 degrees the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales 'meet' so to speak? An unhappily true fact... I think the speed of light is even a bit slower thru this air.

Cheers from The North: boring sky, non-boring weather.

Scott

[Omaroo]

Awww.. I miss it. Pictures like that Scott remind me of our upstate NY house in Poughkeepsie. It's funny, but many people here have never seen snow like you get there - and will always claim "I hate snow - give me my tropical weather any day". How boring! LOL! It's a different life and I'd like to do it again some day.

[iceman]

Hi Scott, great to see you made it home safely!

Man that's some snow! I've never lived in anything like that.

[OneOfOne]

Reminds me of working in sunny (not) Saskatoon in Canada a couple of weeks before Christmas....brrrrr!

[GrahamL]

Funny thing I have never seen snow and only experianced frost on my car windscreen a few years back ( didn't get why the wipers wern't working)I told somone once about never having seen snow and he said ..you know your not missing much ,think of white mud that you invariably have to walk through or move out of the way .:)

[goober]

Wow... too bad if you want to fire up the BBQ :)

[DJVege]

LoL! I love the snow!! Bring on negative temperatures ANYTIME!! Though observing would be out.

[erick]

Until you have to shovel cold sticky snow which I had to for a few days one cold winter in Swansea, South Wales. :help: I very quickly lost my (ex-Queenslander) fascination with snow!

Glad to see you are home safe and sound, Scott! We look forward to lots of reports! :thumbsup:

How are you going to cope - how close are the nearest ocean waves :scared:

[wavelandscott]

I am a bit jealous as I miss the cold and snow...something about the bitter cold "keeps you sharp" (me thinks).

Glad you made it back "home" safely!

[GTB_an_Owl]

Gee - your gunna wear out the hair dryer getting rid of that lot Scott :lol:


and as for obverving on those cold, crisp nites - i personally don't have a problem :cold: :whistle:

geoff

[citivolus]

I feel for you, Scott. I spent most of my first 25 years in Alberta, which has a very similar climate to the cooler parts of Minnesota (even colder than Wisconsin!). Astronomy there consisted of hauling the refractor out into the snowdrift and observing for 5 minutes until the objective and eyepiece both froze up. I can't imagine drift aligning in that. I get cold just thinking about it.

[Omaroo]

LOL! At one stage (1998) in NY we were baled up for two weeks because we had 2 metres of white stuff outside. We'd dig the 20m driveway out and by the time you got 2 metres in the part you shovelled was a foot under again. We loved it. We went through 3 winters like this and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We had a ski area literally up the road (Bear Mtn) and skating on the pond in the next back yard. There were white roofs with fairy lights for Christmas - just a magical atmosphere. Crisp, fresh and invigorating! I'd much rather the snow than a hot beach. Yuk.

[erick]

It was the first shovel load that taught me a hard truth. Cold snow is sticky, not like the sloshy stuff we sometimes see. Scoop up a shovel full, throw it to the side - shovel comes back with half the snow still there! :scared:

[RB]

Good to hear that you made it home safely Scott and thanks for pics and the snow report. ;)


Chris I couldn't agree more.
I wish it'd snow here, I've only ever seen snow once and I'd much rather that than the heat any day.

Sounds like a winter wonderland in Upstate NY.
I'd really love to spend a Christmas actually in New York City, now that would be nice.

[Ric]

Man that looks cold.
I don't mind Winter or the cold but I'm not a snow person.:cold:

Looks great on postcards though. :D


Cheers

[goober]

I've seen snow perhaps ten times, but only seen it falling once - Thredbo, Christmas Day, 2006. We decided it was such a novelty we'd catch the Kossy Express chairlift to the top. It stopped half way up for about 10 minutes. Dressed for summer, stopped in a chairlift, and getting slapped sideways by gale force snow isn't recommended. We were this colour when we got off ... :sadeyes:

[matt]

I'm with you, Chris.

Having grown up in England, I was fortunate enough to experience a few very cold and snowy winters. They were magical, and as you point out they make everything look so picturesque.

Even though I've now been in Australia 25 years...I still miss the 'magic' of snow and the fun you can have when everything's buried under a big blanket of white.

I even enjoyed the trudge through it on the way to school...and how much fun it was to go about your daily routine while snow was falling all around. You certainly do feel more alive when the temp never rises above zero degrees Celsius ...during the day!

[Omaroo]

Snow is the main reason we bought our property outside of Cooma NSW. Just love it! Warm fire, gluwein, total silence. Mmmm... :)

[Tannehill]

I'm moving to Arizona. I've enjoyed snow for 40 years here. I like winter and snow and such in the abstract, but not on the concrete....at least not this much.

Just need....to...[puff puff]...survive....few.....more....weeks ....

Scott
Cedarburg WI, USA

[xstream]

I don't know, I lived in Scandinavia (Sweden) for three years :cold: and I reckon, give me summer any day! :sunny:

[matt]

:lol:

Don't get me wrong.

I'm not saying I'd want snowy, winter conditions all-year round.:scared:

I just like having it among the seasonal changes. It's lovely when spring eventually arrives and you feel the warm-up happening.

And those lovely, fresh autumn nights when the air is still and you can feel winter is not too far away...but not here yet. Magic!

[Glenhuon]

Snow! I still remember standing at cold bus stops in the morning and couldn't feel me body below the ankles. Driving a m'cycle and side car 12 miles through 6" of the stuff to and from work. No thanks, that's one of the reasons I came to sunny Australia. looks great on a Christmas Card but thats the best place for it :lol:

Bill

[Karls48]

Snow, yes I remember that stuff some forty years ago. –42 was coldest I have been thru. You could not bend electrical cable, PVC cover shattered like glass. No thanks I prefer Australian weather. Mind you I have seen snow in Blue Mountains when I lived there. It usually lasted for one day and that was enough for me.

[sheeny]

Thanks for the pics, Scott!:thumbsup:

I quite like the snow. Never saw it till I moved to Oberon, and I've enjoyed it ever since... but then we don't get that much:P. I enjoy heaps of snow like that too, on occasion - I can appreciate that when you live in it for a long time it can wear thin.:)

Al.

[gary]

Hi Scott,

It was good to meet you whilst you were down here and I hope the
new posting and your future professional life pans out well for you.

Take heart you are not missing much observing wise at the moment.
When you left Australia, the general problem was there was not enough water.
Environmentally speaking, that is undoubtedly still true in many parts,
but from an observational perspective, many would complain
we have had too much. However, unlike Wisconsin, it's been mostly in the
liquid state rather than the solid state.

Best Regards

Gary