This was a short month, after all, just 28 days, you can't get any shorten than that in today's calendars. It also means another month of winter has been completed. That's both good and bad. Winter, as winters go, is not so hard to take most of the time. Sure, there are those days of below zero temperatures to deal with from time to time. The other major problem, is the transition periods: when the snow isn't that good for snow activities, but the trails and roads are mostly mud or slush. But, this time has gone quickly again.
Just this week, another good snow event took place. It gave a chance to strap on the snowshoes a couple of more times, and make sure the snowplow and tractor still worked. Even through there was about 9" of new snow, this time of the year, the daily temperatures tend to rise into the low 30's, so most of that settles down, evaporates, or melts away pretty quickly.
So it is with winter. Moving through it, a day at a time, and a month at a time.
Posting of my daily ranch summary as taken from Wunderground follows:
02/28/2009 - It was a clear cold morning at the ranch today. The horses were glad to see us for the morning feeding since there is not much left to graze on in the pastures and woods (especially with 9" of new snow covering whatever was left). The people and dogs enjoyed a morning walk in the new snow. With the ongoing good snow, another snowshoe outing rounded out the afternoon.
Icicle in Morning Sun Glow
Taffy Up to Her Neck in the Morning Hunt
Horses Feeding at the Old Barn
02/27/2009 - The afternoon snow from yesterday continued somewhat into the late evening. This resulted in a total of about nine inches of new snow for the event. Since the paddocks were so full of snow, no attempt was made to do pickup chores today. Instead, the dogs and ranch workers went for an afternoon snowshoe trek. Afterward, snow plowing was done to clear the ranch roads and move the snow that had slid from the roofs.
Pause during Morning Dog Walk in New Snow
Mid Day Snowshoe Trekking
02/26/2009 - Today showed a return to the winter conditions. A new covering of 3-4" of snow overnight placed its blanket over everything. Later in the afternoon, more snow fell, adding another like amount. The current snow pack is not going to melt soon. Historically, this is not much of a surprise, the weather logs show snow cover should be expected until sometime between the 15th and 20th of March.
Snow on the Horses and the Shadow Fence
Weathered Logs Covered in Additional Snow
Barn, Field and Distant Trees with New Snow
Afternoon Snow Covers Horses with another Layer (Slide show)