Murphy's Law of Snowshoveling...

...says that no matter when you go outside to shovel snow from your sidewalks and driveways, as soon as you're done, the snowplow will come by. And that's exactly what happened today during my first snowstorm in Maine since 1983.

The snow started falling around 6am this morning (Monday), and is expected to continue falling through tomorrow afternoon. So far it looks like about 7 inches have fallen. I was able to measure this with my....ruler.

The temperature hasn't gone above 24 degrees Farenheit (that's -4.4 Celsius for my friends from the sensible countries on the planet who use metrics) so the snow is fluffy and lightweight (easier to shovel...YEAH!).

The only part of this winter-wonderland scene that I'm missing is a sled. I can't wait to go sledding again! Then coming in to have warm cup of hot chocolate (or mangooooo for some of you).

Looks like winter is here.

Oh look...the snowplow just went by. I have to get out and shovel!

I Have Got to Find The River

The Penobscot River is but 50 or 60 yards in front of my house. When I was a kid growing up down the street from where I now live, the Penobby was the play-ground for us kids down in this end of Orono.

Across the street from my house is the old Bangor Hydro Power Plant. This plant used to produce electricity from water routed from the other river I live near...the Stillwater River...through the turbines within this old hydro-electric plant. This building sits on the area where the Stillwater and the Penobscot Rivers merge. These days, however, this plant is no longer used to create electricity, although it still has a power-routing station located on the property. The dam at the mouth of the Stillwater River is on the list to be removed soon.

These pictures were taken from my front door. You can see the old hydro plant, and in the background you can see the gray/blue color of the Penobscot River through the trees.

Here is a picture taken from the river looking back at my house. Pretty close, eh? I wonder if this counts as waterfront property?

A couple of pictures of the river - one right by the hydro, and the other looking south down the Penobby.

This time of year the water is down pretty low. It hasn't rained much lately, so the water is down a little lower than normal. Once winter hits,

the level will rise and much of it will freeze. And when the spring thaw arrives, it will be a raging river with a wicked higher water level.

Luckily this area never floods, so I'm safe and sound right where I'm located.

**crosses fingers**

**rubs lucky rabbit foot**

**hangs up a horseshoe**

**gets out 4-leaf clover**

Check Out The Size of My....

...front-yard tree! Wait...what did you think I was going to say? OMG! You pervert.....

This tree was planted by my dad and his brothers and sisters...my aunts and uncles...when they were teenagers. So right around the time that mankind was making the switch to paper from stone tablets. hahaha! I kill me.

Actually, I guess it might've been closer to the early 1960s. They dug the tree up from the bank of the Penobscot River right across the street from the house they were living in, which I now own. Look at how huge it is!

And comparatively, that's one small house right below it. **gulp**

There's a Tree

There's a tree growing in my backyard that is a fir tree. It's a nice piece of nature's work, standing about 7 feet tall and very full. Nothing too odd about that, right, since Maine is very wooded, eh?

I also have a pine tree growing in my backyard. This is not odd since Maine is full of pine trees, thus giving Maine its "Pine Tree State" nickname.

Here's what IS odd: the pine tree is growing OUT OF the fir tree! Yeah, you heard me: the pine tree is growing out of the fir tree.




How did this happen? I can only imagine that a seed from a nearby pine tree must've somehow found its way into a crack in the fir's bark a bunch of years ago, and was actually able to take root in the fir trees' trunk. And now, oh I don't know, 6 years later or so, the pine tree is the uppermost part of the fir/pine combo. Even more wacky thing is that the pine tree part is actually mature enough that it is producing cones!!!

So I'm not sure what to do. Do I let this oddity of nature continue to grow as it is with the fir and pine as one unit? Or do I chop down the pine tree portion so the fir can thrive as a single unit? There are certainly plenty of pine trees around, but is there a fir/pine? I think I'll keep it. We'll see what happens.

For now, however, I'm waiting to see what The Churning has to say about my post dealing with wood, cracks, seeds and fir....