Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: snow


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Did you say "snow?"

So how does 9.5 inches of snow change a person’s normal routine?  Pretty much in all ways you can imagine.

That’s how much snow they say we got around here, less than the predicted 10-15 inches…and we’ve cleaned up faster than they figured we would.  But still I am behind in my normal emails and blogging.

I spent Tuesday night at a hotel located within a mile of the office.  I couldn’t see my car that night, parked out behind the building, and I had no landmarks or other way to measure the accumulating snow.  But I could hear the wind howling all night so I wasn’t too surprised Wednesday morning to find my car encased in it’s own little snowdrift.

Too bad I didn’t have a camera.  But suffice it to say that I wasn’t going to be able to get in the car and drive to work.  And I didn’t have a shovel with me.  Silly me.  So I used my ice scraper and my feet to pull most of the snow away from the front of the car.   The mile drive was pretty slippery and I’m glad I didn’t have to drive further.

It snowed all afternoon Wednesday, and I worried about the drive home.  But the main roads had tracks in them and we all drove slow so it wasn’t too bad.  Thursday morning I left home extra early and found that once I got out to the main road the drive was fine.  So I ended up at work extra early.

All this driving, getting up early, leaving in the dark, coming home after dark takes its tole.  Wednesday I fell asleep on the sofa after my commute and slept all night.  I haven’t actually seen the snow here at home, haven’t been here in daylight yet.

Katie tells me it’s very deep.  Her Dad had to dig out several paths for her to do her jobs.  She wants to know when we get to go on another adventure.  I told her maybe tomorrow.

Or maybe I’ll just take a nap.


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Stop heavier trucks

I don’t have much time, as I need to start my commute to work early…but I got an email last night from the Truck Safety Coalition asking for help opposing a bill.  I’ll just cut and paste it here.  If you can, contact your Senators to voice your opposition to Senate bill S-112 which would allow exemptions for trucks up to 100,000 pounds (normal trucks are limited to 80,000 pounds) on Maine and Vermont highways.

If you wonder why worrying about highways in Maine and Vermont effects YOU…well…if they get permission to drive there, they’ll work on the adjoining state, and then the next one, and then the next.  So we’re trying to stop larger trucks NOW.

They’ve had a year of a “trial” period in these two states and they are trying to make that permanent.  We’d like to see the trial end now.  Below is what I received:

UPDATE: ACTION STILL NEEDED TO PREVENT EXEMPTIONS

January 31, 2011

UPDATE: Thank you for your efforts to keep a continuation of the Maine and Vermont one-year exemption to the federal truck weight limit out of the 2011 Appropriations Continuing Resolution.  This victory is great news, but we must continue our efforts.  Senator Collins just introduced a bill that would give Maine and Vermont permanent exemptions, S. 112.  We also expect a major push for permanent exemptions when the Continuing Resolution expires on March 4th.

TAKE ACTION NOW:  Please call or email your Senators and ask them to oppose S. 112 and any attempts to give Maine & Vermont permanent exemptions to federal truck weight limits.  If these states are given exemptions, special trucking interests in neighboring states will then seek exemptions and soon there will be 100,000 lb. trucks throughout the country.

To contact your Senators, go to www.senate.gov and

in the top right corner, click on your state.

TALKING POINTS:

  • Daphne Izer, Parents Against Tired Truckers Co-Chair, recently submitted an op-ed to the Bangor Daily News which was printed on Jan. 27.  http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/01/27/opinion/heavier-trucks-hazard-to-maine-roads-people/ Daphne makes several compelling arguments – please use them for talking points.  Also, at the end of the op-ed, there is a place to submit comments.  Supportive responses would be greatly appreciated.
  • The chances of a large truck crash resulting in death and serious injuries increase with each extra ton of weight over the 80,000 lbs. GVW limit in federal law.  Heavier trucks take longer to stop and roll over more frequently.
  • Overly heavy trucks, particularly 100,000 lbs. trucks, dramatically underpay their fair share of taxes and user fees for the repair of U.S. roads and bridges.  States and Congress are already struggling to find funds to address the backlog of road and bridge needs across the country.
  • Supporters of the exemption claim that a permanent exemption is necessary because the federal weight limit of 80,000 lbs. places Maine and Vermont at a “regional disadvantage.”  However, by securing exemptions for Maine and Vermont, the trucking industry is laying the groundwork for other states to request similar exemptions.
  • The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) reported that 36% of Maine’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 29% of its major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.  Similarly, 39% of Vermont’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 40% of its major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.

Heavier Trucks Mean Bigger Safety Problems

For More Information, contact the Truck Safety Coalition, 703-294-6404

Daphne’s son, his girlfriend and two other friends were killed many years ago when a truck driver ran over the top of them as they were sitting on the side of the freeway after having car trouble.  One teenager survived.  Daphne has spent her life since then making our roads safer.  She lives in Maine.  You can see her story on video at the Truck Safety Coalition website:  http://www.trucksafety.org

I know this is rambling, but I have to go.  It’s snowing out and I have a long commute.  I’m probably staying in a hotel down near work tonight, so I won’t have access to anything.  Everyone…stay safe during this storm.  Stay off the roads if you can.  Hugs to you all.


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Sunshine, snow and Katie's excellent adventure

When the sun shines snow doesn’t seem so bad.  And today we had sunshine!  So Katie and I went out for an adventure.  On the drive I noticed how beautiful the sky was.  It felt so good to see the sun.

We drove up to a little park in a town I used to work in.  We had the park all to ourselves.

Mostly it was a packed trail where some people had walked their dogs, and others had cross country skied.

Katie had lots of places to investigate, so we weren’t exactly moving at an aerobic pace.

It was a beautiful day in the woods…

…and in the fields…where I found a little tiny bird’s nest.  Katie got mad at me because I went off the path and she had to wade in snow up to her chest.  The next time I found something I wanted to photograph she told me she’d just wait up on the path, thank you very much Mom.

We got to chase a squirrel, both of us running at top speed across the snow.

The squirrel got away, but Katie wasn’t giving up.

When we got to a “T” in the path quite a ways away from the car I wanted to turn back.  But Katie wasn’t having any of that.  She didn’t want to waste a good walk going back over the trail she’s just covered.  So we went further around the big loop instead.  Cause Katie’s in charge don’t you know

We headed home along a steep ridge.  At one point Katie thought we should go down a steep hill.  Which she did.  Then she sat and watched a lady walk along the path on the other side of a creek.  After the lady went by Katie looked over her shoulder at me and all I had to do was motion her back and she ran right back up the hill.  Such a good girl.

We also did a bit of recall…just to see if she remembers.

Of course she does.

We had just the best time, she didn’t want to go back to the car, but I was cold and damp and hungry.  So she graciously allowed me to put her back into her crate.

We’re pretty sure we’ll go back to that park again this winter.  They’re predicting 10 to 15 inches of snow day after tomorrow.  Can’t wait to see how she feels about snow when it’s deeper than she is tall!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  We sure did!  Katie sends kisses.


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Snowshoes and Katie-girl

Inspired by PJ over at Books in Northport I dug my old snowshoes out of the basement this morning.  With a few more inches of fresh snow overnight I thought it would be fun to  goof off with Katie in the yard.

She’s never seen snowshoes before, so I was curious how she’d feel about them.  I went out first, got them on and plodded to the back of the yard.  Then husband “released the dog” and she raced out to see me.

At first she was curious about what was on my feet.

But pretty soon she was into the game of frisbee.

Though she also liked following me around, walking in my wide trail and pouncing on the back of the snowshoes.

And especially fun was digging and routing through the snow looking for..

…well, I don’t really know what she was looking for..but obviously it was very interesting!

There are lots of places to explore in the yard…

…but eventually snow began to ball up on her legs and underside…and it was time to go in.

But we’ll be out again soon, right baby?

Cause this was really FUN!


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Hope

This was going to be a Wordless Wednesday…but I had to get my food blog up…

So I present these photos as a sign that spring can not be that far away… even though some of you are getting buried (yet again) by winter’s wrath.

The first is a sign in front of our local nursery…and the second is inside my local grocery store.

Time to smile.  There is hope.


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Weekends with Katie

Last weekend Katie helped me pack up Christmas.

She wasn’t very comfortable with all these boxes on the sofa, especially since they made funny noises when I put ornaments in them.

But she was curious enough to come back and sit on the sofa and watch each time.  She didn’t, however, provide much advice about how to get all the ornaments packed away.

This weekend Katie helped me fill the bird feeders.

She thought this was a lot more fun.

Then we went out into the back yard to play.

That was the most fun of all.

She’s napping now.  All this work wears a Sheltie out.


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Sunshine and shadows

Trees 1492We woke to sunshine today!  It’s amazing how a little sun can change an attitude almost instantly!

Every time we’d had bits of sun since the last couple of snowfalls I’ve been fascinated by the shadows of trees on the flat white snow.  I’d be out with Katie, waiting for her to do her thing and the sun would pop out.  I’d notice the beautiful crisp blue gray shadows and think that I’d like to try to paint them.  I’d hope she’d hurry up so I could go get the camera and capture the image for later.  Inevitably the sun would slide back behind a cloud by the time we made it to the house.

I have a photo from last winter that I’ve been meaning to paint…or try to paint…with water color.  I can see it in my mind…but water colors are so free spirited, you just never know what they will decide to do.  So I’ve been sort of stuck; afraid that I can’t make it work the way I want it to I haven’t tried.

Trees 689

Then another blogger suggested we each try to draw something, even though few of us are artists.  She suggested that we try something that was outside our comfort zone.  And I had a box of oil pastels that another person had given me years ago, and a small sketch book with white sheets of paper just waiting.    So I tried.

funky art 067

I wasn’t that pleased with the result.  Yet it wasn’t terrible either.  A quick slash of colors across the white paper, more thought about the shadow.  After all, this composition is supposed to be about the shadow.  But then I was stuck again.

Until another blogger mentioned that she was reading “Trust the Process” by Shaun McNiff.  He talks about just getting on with it, letting yourself make mistakes, moving from one art form to another, try something new…all good advice.  So today with the sun shining brightly I was out with my camera, capturing those illusive shadows, making an image that I will play with later once the sun goes down.  Trying to convey the transparency combined with sharpness of shadows lying low across my snow covered lawn.

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We’ll see.  I’m trying to trust the process.

Trees 1415


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Wanna play Frisbee?

Katie 2274 It’s sunny today and already 13 degrees out!  Can’t waste a perfectly beautiful Saturday.  So I asked …”Hey Katie…wanna play Frisbee?

Well, like any good young Sheltie she was immediately up for it.  She hopped around so much it was hard to put her leash on.  And once outside and off the leash…well…it was time for CRAZY DOG!  She could hardly stand it until I threw the frisbee the first time.  Then she ran as fast as she could, heading across the snow covered yard.  With the sun in her eyes she didn’t catch the frisbee, which caused her to growl at it.  But she brought it right back to me without her  “victory lap” that she  usually takes around me before she’ll hand it off.  This time she wanted me to throw it right away.  So I did.

Do you see her waaaaay out there?

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Here she comes!

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Throw it again Mom!  Throw it again!
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Silly girl.

Katie 2296