Mack Truck Yellow Breakdown

Last week, we got another fifteen inches of snow over the course of two days. I thought the snow was winding down. I was deceived by the warm weather days ahead of the storm by temperatures in the fifties. The snow had receded enough to see the ground  in some places but it did not last. The snow reminds me that spring will be coming someday.

Monday morning found me clearing the driveway with our snowblower.  The drifts in our driveway were well over the top of the mouth of the mouth of the blower which stands at about sixteen inches tall. Afterwards I needed to make a path in our backyard to a secondary wood pile. Upon the return path I was making towards the house, the snowblower quit throwing snow. As I looked down the chain that drives the inner auger paddle was still attached meaning that the belt that drives the auger directly from the engine had broken. I got the blower into the garage and removed the access panel to find the belt shredded.

Lower gear box of the snowblower. Mack Truck Yellow.

 

I bought this snowblower used when we moved here. I found out this week that that the blower was made in the early 80s and belt that drives the auger is a specific size and obviously was going to be hard to locate. I did find the replacement belt online and was ready to order it when I heard of the forecast of more snow coming next week. If I ordered it online it would have taken several days to receive the belt. I called every small engine repair service to locate the belt locally. Luckily, I found one at a farm implement dealer just down the road. What Luck.   Today, I replaced the belt and will continue to use the snowblower until it decides that I need to tinker with it some more. I must say that the blower is a very handy machine that beats shoveling a lot of snow and makes quick work of our driveway.

Boo, our cat,

Burr Oak

There are a lot of Burr Oak trees around here. I had not given them much thought about photographing them until this winter. They have really grown on me in the last couple of months. In December, I had seen a row that included a Burr Oak during a heavy snow and remarked how beautiful it was. With still a lot of snow on the ground and the temperature in the forties, causing a dense fog, I drove to their location. I found a safe place to park and walked along a snowmobile trail that paralleled the tree line and here it is.

Ground Hog Day

It sure has been cold lately.The same snow that fell in December remains. Some days are colder than others but spring must surely be around the corner. Davenport's engine would just grunt when I tried to start it. So,I had to charge its battery. Having a dead battery in the winter, is not a good situation to be in.

This time of year the sun seems to hang low in the southern horizon. A major winter storm passed to the south of us in the last 24 hrs.The storm was big enough to make national news with blizzard warnings in many states. We got very little snow as The system brushed by. I have taken many pictures within a couple miles of where I made this image today in western portage county. I just find it interesting place.

 Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today. I can see why.

On The Wing

Several weeks ago, Melissa and I noticed a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree alongside the road. Yesterday as we traveled along the same road, the eagle was still hanging around. I decided to take its picture. When I was growing up they were seriously on the the verge of extinction. A rarity to see in the 70s. As a kid, I thought I might never see one in the wild.  We see them often today as their numbers increase in the lower 48 states.  A true success story.

Winter 2011

Going home for Christmas sure was fun. It is always great to see family and friends. It was also good to see the ground and Brownish green grass. I am always amazed at how little it has changed. The trees of western Kentucky and Tennessee are finally beginning to show new growth from an ice storm that happened a couple of years ago. The storm left an eerily looking landscape. What a treat to hear birds singing on our visit home. Here at home the only birds I have seen are eagles, hawks, turkeys, and crows. Lots of crows. Today, I went out and made a few exposures.  The snow is here to stay. At least for a little while longer. I have driven by a few places around here and seen a few possibilities for images. I keep them in my back pocket for a snowy day.

Tomorrow River.

Rough Harvest

A couple of weeks ago I was out in the west end of the county during gun deer season when I came upon this scene.

Portage County, Wisconsin  November, 2010.

From that same roll of  T-max film. Last image in black and white of ice crystals made at the time of last post.

Today out side of Rudolph, Wisconsin. A hoary frost covered the trees.

Winter 2010

Over the weekend we had our first real snow of the season. After the snow Melissa and I got the driveway cleared so we could get out. We got a solid ten inches with drifts close to two feet. Several surrounding counties had blizzard warnings posted. Now it is just bitterly cold with a high of 10 degrees today. I went out today and made some headway with the snow blower so I can get to the wood pile out back. It is a funny looking trail around the house.  What you see here should remain until spring.

The wind blew most of the snow off of the trees. A few remain that are flocked with the snow.

Water is in the title of this blog. I find it amazing what can happens to it in it various states. Yesterday I found crystals formed on a singled paned window in the garage. Yesterday it looked pretty cool but today was another animal all together.