February in Retrospect and March Blows in Like a Lion

February of 2016 has been one of the more lively months, and has presented a wide range of weather to keep us interested.

At the beginning of the month, all of the snowmobile trails were closed due to lack of snow and on February 3 we experienced the warmest February day on record.  Some malevolent West Coast friends sent pictures of the daffodils blooming in their yard, and I was fortunately able to report that we were enjoying the same excitement.

Then, February 13 and 14 we experienced record lows at -30C both nights.

Then, by the last 1/3 of February, we have beautiful days for skiing, and snowshoeing.  (Note that while skiing, I am at my best standing, while Brian shows style going forward.....)

Snowshoeing provided great opportunities to see many tracks, like those of the flying squirrels (that’s a quarter in the snow).  They have very lacy little tracks, but what amuses me most is the tail prints in the snow.

In February I got cataract surgery on both eyes, three weeks apart, and that has proven to be marvellous.  I had no idea what I had not been available to see, and it has been somewhat of a rude shock to see how much dirtier the house has become.  However, the improvement has been huge and I am much more happy doing handicrafts again.

We got a more mixed menu of rain and snow near the end of February, leading to some pretty pictures (including the poor flag frozen stiff as a board).

With all the warm weather in February, we were expecting to see spring real soon, but the night of March 1 gave us a mere 17 inches of new snow.  I had to snowshoe out to fill the bird feeders and Brian spent 3 ¼ hours cleaning the driveway.

Now that I see how dirty the house is, housecleaning is a big priority for the next few days because we are interviewing real estate agents starting the week of March 7, and plan to have the house relisted by the end of March.  Busy busy busy............