Record-breaking Snowfall

 They've been talking about it for days and this is one forecast that nature honored.

 Officially, the NWS recorded 6.4" of snow at the airport at 7 am. That record for the day was set just three years ago, on 01/25/23.

 By 11:00 am the record set during the blizzard of  1978 was broken: the airport stood at 13".

 I woke a couple of times during the night and could see the heavy snow falling, blown to the east by a gentle wind. When I got up at 6:30 am I went outside to shovel and took my own reading: 8.5" here at Pinehaven.

 But it has snowed  all morning and at 2 pm, when I measured again, I have recorded 14.5", closely matching the NWS figure.

 Here's how it looked thoughout the day:

First light:

Mid-morning:

 Mid-afternoon:

 It depends on where you measure but this reading is a good average: nearly 15" (but we'll say 14.5" to be accurate).

 There is a drift on the kitchen roof that has to be extremely heavy. I certainly can't get up there so it'll have to melt slowly.

 The back yard looking north.

 Look directly out the driveway towards S Clayton Road. No one has come to plow us out. But how could they get here? Montgomery County is under a Level 2 Snow Emergency:  only essential vehicles.  I've only heard a plow twice so virtually nothing is moving.

  This is our garden area, already asleep but now put into a deeper one.

 Looking westward across the back yard.

 Pinehaven sits snug in the deep snow.

 I often use our picnic table as a  snow board but, as deep as it is, it seems to have had snow removed by the light wind as it fell.

 A close-up look at the drift on the kitchen roof.

 That's the drift from inside Mom's bedroom.

The Morning After:

 Here were other CoCoRaHS snow measurements at 7 am this morning. My figure is the 8.5 is the mid-left.

Help arrives (01/26/26):

 Yesterday DR Coffman plowed out three of our neighbors to the south. But the day ended without a visit. Today about 2 pm I saw him arrive and begin plowing out Millie, our closest neighbor (above).

When he finished he came out to Clayton Road and then turned into our driveway. Help had arrived!

 With a plow and snow blower he was able to make quick work of our driveway. In mere minutes we  again had access to the road.

 I offered DR "money for gas" but he wouldn't take anything. "You're a neighbor," he said.

 Tom and I dug his truck out by hand and he left to feed his cats. It's a great feeling to know we're free to leave whenever we need to.

Later:

 When I went upstairs late in the day and looked down upon the drifted snow, it made me think I was on a ship at sea ad I looking upon a breaking surf.

After the storm (02/04/26):

 It's been 11 days since the snowstorm and finally "warm" enough during the day to go outside and get some work done, else just enjoy the sight of the melting (actually sublimating) snow. That said, I recorded eight consecutive days with daily lows below zero and that equaled (but did not exceed) our record run in 1994.

 Even now, we're having cold nights (we briefly bottomed out at 6° last night). But by the time I got up at 7 am, the temperature had risen to 22°. Today is sunny, calm and in the mid- to upper 20's.

 Here are some views from today, now that we can finally walk again ...

 I dug a path to the burn barrel so that Tom could burn our paper trash. I have been collecting it in the garage but it was getting too great an amount to find a place for. Tom got it all cleaned up.

 Our driveway allows for easy access again. Tom has been getting out with the truck and now I find I can get my Chevy Cruze out, too. But yesterday,  when I took cupcakes to DR Coffman (who initially dug us out) I got seriously stuck in his driveway  and needed help getting back onto the road.

 A wider view of Pinehaven from Millie's lane. I've been getting Parker out there daily for a walk and she loves trotting along, especially now that it's not too hard on her delicate pads.

 Well behind Pinehaven (on the left), the fields still lie deep in snow. But Millie's lane has been plowed several times and the high spot in the middle is even showing gravel and grass. That makes walking much easier.

 A final view of the house when I returned. The snow isn't nearly as deep but it's holding on.

Aurora Repeats

  For two nights the aurora again showed itself in the Dayton area. Nothing was extremely impressive but any viewing of the Northern Lights here is a rare event. I recorded it both  nights and rather than pick and choose, I'll post everything I took so you can see how it came and went and eventually faded away.

January 19:

6:53 pm

7:26 pm

8:04 pm

 Pretty much gone ... but hope springs eternal.

8:30 pm

9:02 pm

January 20:

6:46 pm

6:49  pm

 This shot shows the vertical nature of the "curtains" of light.

6:49 pm

7:04 pm

 And it's gone!

7:22 pm

7:23 pm

 A little pink residual glow ... but not enough to bother with.

7:59 pm

 Now the clouds are moving in ...

8:46 pm

 By the end clouds had covered the sky and any observation of the aurora was over.

 Both evenings showed high Kp numbers (I saw an 8.0 on 01/20). On 01/19 the Bz stayed positive as long as I  watched but went negative on 01/20. Those are perfect numbers. I was probably a bit too far south but in my opinion anything is worth watching for.

Credit: Google Gemini

Apple Crisp Delight: Nothing Better!

  I make Mom's Apple Crisp Delight often. Last week  when we were in Meijer I saw they had bags of beautiful apples on sale ($3.99). There were eight in the bag so I felt save in eating one for a snack. That left seven for apple  crisp and this afternoon I put the recipe together.

 I've written about this multiple times. If  you want the recipe, use the search box at the top left of the page. It'll give you numerous posts as well as ones with the recipe. No sense duplicating here.

 Here's the result:

 I used my broiler on high the last minute and a half to brown the top and give it a little crunch. I don't know if that's how Mom pulled it off but it seems to work well.

 I made the topping first and placed it in the refrigerator to keep the margarine from melting. It is the margarine that provides the browning I believe.

 Here's the completed recipe ready to go into the oven.

 Tom and I now have dessert for several days next week.

 

 

Let's Talk Energy

  I often write a blog as much for myself as anyone else as this is an easy way to research a subject without having to keep paper records or remember when I did something. This is one of those I'm writing mostly for myself.

 A few days ago I got an email that my electric bill was available online (I've dispensed with mailed bills). I about shocked when I saw the total: $556.50.

 I don't think I've ever had an energy bill that high. Consider that we keep the house (both floors) at 66°. I wouldn't say we're warm. It's tolerable but that's about it.

 I used 3211 kWh. The month's temperature averaged 32.1° which was 1.2° above  normal.
 A year ago I used 2399 kWh. The month averaged 5.5°  above normal.

 So that temperature dip accounts for some of the increase. But what's mostly responsible is the cost. When generation and delivery are added together and divided  by the kWh's used, last year's cost was 0.1226/kWh; this year's cost was 0.1761. That's a 43.6% increase  in just one year.

 I called my HVAC guy just to make sure the heat pump was  operating as efficiently as possible. He added two pounds of refrigerant. I suppose he was last year a couple of years ago. He thinks that will make some difference in the operating cost of the heat pump.

 I paid $220 for the service call and the refrigerant. He said his own furnace went out during the recent cold snap the night's low was -2° on 12/14 and -4° on 12/15) and his electric bill was $600. We live within a mile of one another. [He had to run his heat pump on AUX for some time  and electrical resistive heat is extremely expensive].

 Heating with electricity is certainly no longer economical. And while prices for electricity have risen, oil (and propane prices) have dropped.

 That led me to research our cost when we had a furnace that burnt fuel oil. In 1991  (the earliest bill I still  have), the cost per gallon of fuel oil was 0.885. By 2008 (the last bill we got before we switched to a heat pump) the price was 3.199. That's a 261.5% increase in those 17 years.

 Of course in those days, though we were heating with fuel oil, we were also paying for electricity for everything  else). But I can't easily figure a total energy cost because I don't know what the electricity cost then.

 But I can give an example. We had an oil delivery of 128 gallons on 12-10-91 (0.899) and had another  on 01-14-92 of 118 gallons (0.828). So that period - just over a month and comparable to the current month's electric bills (34 days) - cost just over $104.

 There's a big difference  between $104 and $565. But there's also a gap of 34 years when prices have skyrocketed. Even so, the historical figure doesn't include electricity so it's an apples and oranges comparison at best.

 Needless to say, for someone 76 years old who can remember the "distant" past, the costs are exorbitant nowadays. It makes me worry even more about the future. Someone making today's wages may not have as much reason to be concerned, but we who are retired were only making a fraction of today's pay. It makes us worry how long we can hold on.

 

 

Our Love

  We've had Parker just over two and a half years now and our love for that dog has only grown. I thought I should update the blog with some recent pictures.

November 2025:

 She's really under there ... and sawing logs.

December 2025:

 This is a yawn in progress.

 Tom bought Parker from Teresa Marker Taylor in Covington, Ohio  in June 2023. Last evening she stopped to visit the dog she hasn't seen since she was a three month old pup. Parker barked at first and then suddenly seemed to realize I know her. A few sniffs and all was well.

 How nice to see Teresa again and to have Parker rediscover her roots. Now, back to our quiet evenings of TV and books with a warm pooch sleeping beside (and on) us.