Snow! Snow! Snow!

I woke up Monday morning to silence. The sixth largest two-day snowfall in Fairbanks history meant no-one could leave for work until the snow was somehow tackled (shoveled, bladed, or driven over/through by those who have high-clearance vehicles).

The first thing I did was field calls that I was okay, and then call my mother and MP Outside to assure them that I was okay. It did occur to me that "lots of snow in Fairbanks" might not register as phenomenal in Outside press, but you never know. While on such calls, this moose walked by outside my window:

I had thought it was one that had been bedding down in my yard, so waved to her (she's my friend, you know). This was not the one. She took one look at me and bolted away. I was startled, and in my shock still hadn't processed that this moose was a stranger to me. I wondered how she might have gotten so frightened, and then saw a little brown hunchbacked troll running after her! Ayah! No wonder she was frightened! What the hell was it? It obviously meant her harm, to be chasing her like that! Then I realized that it was her calf. This was a different moose. This moose had a calf. In the meantime, I had been narrating this whole story to my friend B on the phone. I could hear his indulgent smile over the phone. "Arvay," he said gently. "Is it more likely that a little moose-killing troll is running around in the woods, or that the moose has a calf?"

Sigh

Anyway, here are photos of the snowpocalypse.

My isothermal snow collection device:


My oil tank:


View from the porch:


Charley, the Subaru, buried:


The first thing I shoveled was a path to the outhouse. Priorities!


Then I dug out Charley, the awesomest car ever. I misaligned his plug once what it was -40, so he hadn't been plugged in. I hadn't realized it and tried to start him anyway. He fired right up! Awesomest car ever, right?


Then I got crackin' on the driveway.


Made two paths--one to the car and one for walking from the house.


Two hours later, I was on to systematic progress straight up the driveway:


And after four hours, half a pint of ice cream, a carrot, four spoonfuls of peanut butter, a bowl of chicken soup, an apple, an orange, half an avocado, a quesadilla, and four cups of tea, my driveway was clear! Hell to the yeah!


Then we lost power, so I took my ice cream outside:

I always have my priorities in order!

Oh, and here is a photo from the UAF Chinese New Year dinner: