I expect at least a few readers have been wondering how much show this big storm has blessed us with.  I can tell you that between yesterday at 9 a.m., when it had just begun snowing and I measured half an inch, and this morning at 9 a.m., I had to haul out the big stick (yard stick) to measure the 15 inches collected on our deck. The precipitation gauge was overflowing, (see photo) so that measurement was skewed short at 1.55 in. of precip (I melt the snow in the gauge in order to measure); however, I was able to get a pretty accurate core measurement by using my spare gauge.  The gauge is 12 inches tall, but this snow is fluffy and compacted fine so I got all 15 inches of it, and a reading of 2.10 in. of precipitation.  So far, then a good strong 16 inches from this storm, and it's still snowing.

Out in the back yard, like Fred said when he first looked outside this morning, "The snow is half way up the stake," and he was right.  It's a 6 ft. piece of 2 inch PVC pipe, with inches and feet marked to five feet.  It is imbedded in the ground, so there's about 5 1/2 feet of it above ground.  Even so, the snow was just at 34.5 in.,  the total on the ground.  That particular spot is fairly protected from wind and in the open. 

Fred is still snow blowing.  He was out right after supper last night and again first thing this morning to make a track so everyone who needed to could get out and go to work; however, the town plow didn't come by until after breakfast.  Fred is out there now cleaning up after the plow and widening the driveways, ready for the rest of the storm.  It seems to be winding down, but there's still lots of snow in the air, some falling, some being blown around.  It isn't warm, either.  The temperature was around zero first thing this morning, but now it's up to about 10 above.  With the wind, it's well below zero.  The picture above is of Fred earlier this morning at the foot  of our driveway.  The snow bank behind him is from Jamie plowing his driveway with "The Peach," his rose-colored 3-for-1 Jeep.  The 3-for-1 is because he needed at least three different vehicles to get enough parts to build one workable one.

Don't forget that the Cabot Maple Fest is this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..  There's a pancake breakfast with Cabot maple syrup from 9-11, a silent auction, craft and vendor tables, all sorts of maple - cotton candy, sugar-on-snow, etc., and plenty of food for snacking and lunch.  Roll out the family early and spend the day at the gym  enjoying all the goodness of the season.  I'm guessing not much syrup has been made yet this year around here, but probably some early tappers got a run or two back during that warm spell - anybody remember when that was?  Anyway, even though it's going to be cold outside, there will be lots going on at the Maple Fest.