THE MELT CONTINUES—

Jan Shafer, snowbird friend from Bellville now wintering with her hubby Dick in Vero Beach, FL, recently inquired about our remaining snow cover—no doubt attempting to achieve perfect timing for a return to their local home.

Above is the view from my lower deck looking toward the southwest woods taken March 10th . My back is toward the pond, more or less, and the walkway proceeding straight away from the camera goes up the stone steps out of the rock garden toward the front of the house.

The trail heading to the left passes a couple of the bird feeders and gave Max and me winter access to the driveway from the walkway along this pond’s edge.

The average snow depth in this view remains about 6 inches but already our southern exposures are snow free.

That’s the still frozen surface of the pond on the far left of the picture, but, it is sporting a layer of melt water on top of the ice. It’s hard to imagine as I write this the pond usually is ice-free by the 15th.

That seems a distinct possibility again this year with temperatures in the mid to high 50s these days.

We are keeping our fingers crossed.