Bogieblog

Spring May Make an Appearance Soon

Pictures of the snow remaining Wednesday evening (I had just gotten home and took the pictures before putting the car in the garage)

 

Today, much of the yard is snow free (no pictures since it is all brown). However, all berms from roof dumpage are still there as are the berms from road plows and snow blowing. I transferred the snow blower from the garage to the shed. However, I also transferred the mower to the garage so I can get quick access to the blower if needed since we may get snow toward the end of the coming week. While I was shuffling stuff, I swept out the garage and swept all the sand off the driveway.

Later I wandered the yard picking up windblown trash. Way in back, by the fence, I did find these harbingers of spring

 

The holly still has some berries on it

Then, the mail arrived shortly after 5 pm and as I was at the mailbox I saw two red birds. I figured they were cardinals but then they both perched on a branch of the plum tree just behind the mailbox. Lo and behold, two Scarlet Tanagers! I haven't seen any, that I recall, since several years before moving here (2010 or so maybe?). I was enthralled watching them for the minute or so they fluttered around in the area, then they headed off for who knows where.

I was hoping to take this coming Friday off to go get the bike from storage, but as is my luck they are predicting a mix on Friday and snow on Saturday. So that plan just won't work so I'll have to wait for another Friday.

Have a Happy Easter!

4th Nor'Easter

Was a bust. Although I drove thru a few flurries going to work, it only stuck on the road for my first couple of miles. By the time I got home from work, there was no evidence of any snow having fallen. Oh sure, there is plenty of snow still on the ground but the paths and driveway were clear.

Although not warm, it has been just above freezing the last couple of days so the paths are getting wider. However, the dusting of snow this morning has covered all paths again with about 1/2" of snow and it may not melt as it is supposed to be cold and windy. Warmer temps coming at the end of the week though!

Third Nor'easter in Two Weeks

Once again I worked from home during a Nor'easter. I split the snow blowing into two sessions, and the snow was a little lighter, so it wasn't as hard to deal with. We got about 14" then another couple of inches the next day. Due to some settling and a bit of meltage, the snow pictures don't look much different from the previous storm.

We were due for a 4th Nor'Easter this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, but the weather models now say nope, it will pass out to sea. Thank goodness since there will be little melting with daytime temps in the 20's until the middle of next week and night time temps in the single digits. Of course, there are still several days to go before the storm arrives, so it could still change its mind and hit us for grins and giggles.

Two Nor'Easters

New England has experienced two Nor'Easters in less than a week. The first was during astronomical high tide and affected 3 or 4 tides to devastating affect on the seacoast of several states. Parts of NY got 2+ FEET of snow. Boston experienced 80+ MPH gusts. Tens of thousands of people lost power for days. Yes, Mother Nature came in like a lion.

I was lucky and only got a bit of snow and a bit of wind. Nothing unmanageable and I never lost power. The second Nor'Easter came 5 days after the first one - starting Wednesday evening and winding down on Thursday. Some of the people that had lost power in the first storm, still didn't have power back by the time of the second. The forecasts were all over the place. Depending on the source, my area was to get 5-8", 8-14" or 18-24" of snow. The day before the second storm hit, Red-winged blackbirds massed in the trees behind the house. Here is a crappy phone picture on max zoom because my camera's battery was dead. Everything that appears to be a leaf is a bird. The racket was almost deafening.

I chose to work from home on Thursday as did many people I work with. By 5 AM I had the ramp cleared of roof dumpage and logged in to work for an hour before snow blowing (I was being nice to the neighbors). At 6 AM I grabbed the snow blower and started clearing the driveway. The snow was heavy and snow blowing was slow dealing with wet snow that liked to just pack and push instead of going into the blades. I had to do everything in first gear and even stopping and starting progress to get the snow to cooperate.

 

Usually I can accomplish all of the clean up with one tank of gas. However, this time I ran a tank out after only getting the driveway, parking pad and to the mailbox clear (clear is relative since it was still snowing). I also got about 2/3 of the path to the tent garage cleared.

 

After running out of gas I took a break then filled the tank again and started working on the paths. After 2 hours, my job was complete. Or so I thought until I opened the back door to throw out seed for the birds

 

Once I got the ramp cleared and fed the birds I got back to remoting in to work.

That afternoon I took pictures around the house

Those at the coast again suffered massive power outages, many are still out and the power companies are saying that they will have power back by tomorrow evening. Although the tides were not astronomical highs this time, the previous damage to the seawalls was bad enough that more damage to homes was sustained. Part of I-95 was shut down for 3 hours because of power lines down across the highway. Although my area got more snow, again I didn't not lose power.

 And now a 3rd Nor'Easter looks to be in the works for Tuesday and Wednesday. We are paying for the mild February :O

Advanced Accident Scene Management

Today was a full day of class, taking the Advance Accident Scene Management for motorcyclists. This was a much smaller class than the Basic class with 11 attendees - 6 of those from my Chapter. Pictured are all attendees plus the instructor is on the very left.

Most of the time was spent in the classroom, but at the end 3 of the Concord HOG members set up a scene with 2 bikes down and a car involved. One of the "victims" came in just for the scene, so 9 of us trooped out and practiced managing the scene. One guy took lead and assigned persons according to PACT (Prevent further injury, Assess the situation, contact EMS, treat)

The "scene" was set up out of direct traffic since we were in the employee library parking lot in back of the building. However, there was a surprising amount of traffic from library patrons using that section to go around to the access road. So, two people directed traffic, one gal "called" the authorities, and the rest of us spread among the vehicles to assess the victims.

Unfortunately no one took pictures, but we all pretty much acquitted ourselves well - except the guy (from another Chapter) who tried to horn in and pull the victim in the car into a sitting position. I had assessed her and reported her condition to the lady on the phone with EMS. I told him to back off since she wasn't bleeding, was not presently in danger, was breathing and we couldn't tell if she had neck, back, or internal injuries that would be aggravated if we moved her (I was much nicer than that though). Ah well, hopefully he remembers that if he is ever on a real scene.

We went back into the classroom and discussed what our thinking process was and how we handled our assigned responsibilities. We all got a certificate and a patch that goes over our Basic patch.

And, because she helped and took pictures, here is the LOH member that came in just to help stage the accident and play a victim (the blond lady with sunglasses)

Another well spent Saturday!