New York Renovator

Well, you asked for it! More snow photos. I know you people in the South just love to look at these photos. As for us in the North, well…. it’s still really nice. Until Februrary; then it gets pretty old.

So what a difference a day makes!

This I took yesterday, just as the lake effect snows started to kick in.

And this I took this morning, just as the lake effect is starting to wane.

In my opinion, it’s still not a whole lot of snow. (But I am quite biased, because I don’t have to shovel it). We probably have about 6 inches.

I really like days like these. It’s so cozy here at home. The kids are working on their lessons, I have a pot roast simmering all day (driving the cat beserk), I’m catching up on the laundry, and I hope to get some baking in today, too.

I looked out my window at 7:30 this morning and was surprised to see more snow. I thought yesterday’s snowfall was a fluke, and all the stuff would be gone by today. Nope.

My beautiful purple mums that survived the hard frost last week have now bit the dust officially. Can you see their purple blooms beneath the snow?

It’s unusual to see leaves still on the trees yet.

I hope you are not tired of snow photos yet. I’m not! I actually like this season and, if it was warm enough for comfort, would be happy to sit outside and enjoy it around me. We’ve got about 2-3 inches so far in town, and it just keeps coming! In higher elevations, they have several inches.

Yesterday’s storm, unbeknowst to me until I checked the forecast this morning, was a nor’easter, those Northeast equivalents to hurricanes. Nor’easters are swirling air currents which scoop up moisture from the Atlantic in a counter-clockwise motion; if we are also getting cold temperatures streaming in from Canada, we get the moisture in the form of blizzards. This nor’easter has run it’s course, but it kick-started another quirky Northeastern weather condition we call “lake effect,” which is streams of bursts of heavy snow coming from the two Great Lakes east of us (Ontario and Erie). Might be sunny one minute and white-out conditions the next. I live in the Mohawk Valley, the lowest geographic area of the state, so we are more protected from the storms; when I lived by Oneida Lake, we’d easily get 5 feet of snow in a day with one of these storms.

The fire siren went off regularly yesterday, at least four times for my small town of 1,500 people. Lots of accidents, two of them severe that I heard of. I wish people would not drive, or drive very slowly in these conditions. Upstate New Yorkers are some of the best winter drivers, I think, but the first few snowfalls are always rough on unprepared roads.

So we’re home today, cuddled in our blankets. Manhattan Clam Chowder is simmering in the crockpot, and the soothing hum of the laundry dryer fills the background. I hope you are having a blessed day, with or without snow!

After we bought the house, we replaced only a few things: the roof, a front door, some windows, a new oven, and remodeled the Entry Hall. I have also been through the entire house and re-painted all walls and trim. But that is really all we have done. I am in the process of parging the basement walls, and I painted the concrete floor in the basement last autumn. But raising the kids, busy schedules, and etc have kept us from really doing what we’d like to do with the place all at once.

So, in the meantime, I gardened.

As with the house, the large yard was left untended for a long period of time. It has been a constant battle to reclaim and domesticate the flora and fauna here. Everything we try to do has seemed like such a struggle, from the wild deer that chew up all my shrubs to the neighbor’s grandkids playing “lumberjack” with my new young spruce trees to the massive run-off flooding we have here. It has been a huge fight just to cultivate the land.

Below are few pictures of some things we have done.

Early on, we built a fence to hedge in the front yard. Apparently, our property was a favorite place for snowmobilers and motorcyclers to rip up the lawn by driving in circles around the trees.

Here is our youngest, working on his PHD (post-hole digger).

This is my vegetable garden. I am very proud of it. The deer and rabbits love it, too.

Last July’s big flood wiped out half of my vegetables. I am glad I got a shot of them before they were swept away.

Gardens are beautiful. I never thought I’d be a gardening “nut,” but there is something so satisfying about sowing a plant and watching it grow to become something beautiful and beneficial. Below is a picture of my sunflowers that grew to be 10 feet tall.

I have planted flowers beds (mostly low-care perennials) in small areas around the yard. Because new beds require so much weeding at first, they are still in the process of looking good. I built this arbor and my husband and I secured it to the ground. I also laid a stone pathway with the numerous rocks I have around the yard. Eventually I will redo the walkway with Quikrete’s concrete mold.

Gardening has been a terrific, if exhausting, outlet for me. For the kids, too.

One has so many backyard garden options these days. There are backyard playsets that can turn your back yard into an excellent play area for the children. Getting a pergola can turn it into an admirable piece of architecture. One can also get decks if his nature is more adventure loving. There are a lot of garden variety designs out there, a different one for everyone.