Slightly solid chilly water makes my steps crispy, crunchy

The first real snowfall of the season started late last night.  This morning I woke to the neighbor's high pitched little snow mover thing.  I don't think that it qualifies as a snow blower/thrower like we have.  That purchase was a consequence of moving to a state that has frequent snowfalls of the heavy moist nature.

The stuff here seems to be more fluffy and puffy, akin to the snow I experienced living in the Rocky mountain west.  It is easy to brush off your car, and the only bad thing about it is that your tire tracks compress it and make it difficult to remove from the driveway if you are using a conventional shovel.

I love how it seems more quiet when there is a nice snowfall going strong.  I know most of that has to do with the lack of cars on the road, but when machinery is not working and ruining my chill with motor noises, it is still and idyllic. 

Shovels do not seem to bother me.  The rhythmic scraping can be soothing.  This is best heard from a fair distance.  If you are closer and hear heavy breathing, and possibly swearing, that just ruins everything. 

Today I got decked out in my winter duds, and grabbed the snow shoes to take them out for a test drive.  It is funny how so many things are easier to get than take off.  I got the technique down, but decided that I had chosen the wrong boots.  I will probably go for a little walk tomorrow as well.  Or maybe I will switch to the throwback wooden Ojibwa style snowshoes.  They are more difficult to fasten and release than the aluminum variety, so that will take a bit more planning......  Yuck, planning.

It will be worth it to get more time playing in the snow!

Garage Turtles

We recently had a flood in our basement, and the two feet of water decimated a great deal of our aquarium equipment. 

We found homes for the fish that did not perish when all the pumps and heaters were destroyed, but since the turtles are so large we could not find homes for them in any of our local pet shops or rescue organizations.  Since the basement will need asbestos abatement (there were asbestos tiles under the cheap carpet), the turtles won't be able to go back down there until the spring time (if we can afford the repairs by then).

The garage turtles have gotten all sorts of improvements in their equipment (titanium heater, fancy control system and a brand new filtration system).  I used to be able easily visit them several times a day when they lived in the basement, but now it takes a special trip to the non-attached garage to visit or feed them.  Now that it has started to snow in the midwest, it is harder to motivate ourselves to get out there more than just feeding time.

The turtles don't seem to miss their giant pleco and gold fish friends (Goldie and Whitey started out as 1.5 inch feeder fish and ended up over a foot each).  They have a new algae eater buddy named Algernon, who seems to be getting quite fat on the primarily plant based turtle food.

Garage Turtles would be a great name for a garage band, but since the turtles never make any sounds (except when they fall to floor after escaping the tank), so I think I will have to

How to Divide Peonies

How to Divide Peonies: You seldom hear someone complain about a big, fragrant peony blooming in spring. You often hear, however, gardeners bemoaning the retail price of a new peony plant. The good news is that if you already have a peony growing in the garden, you can divide it to come by more plants. Dan Furman, a third-generation peony grower at Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston Connecticut, and Fine Gardening's web producer Antonio Reis walk you through the division process in this video.   Now there's no excuse for a lack of peonies.