Thrusting and heaving
Git yer minds outta the gutter, dudes!
I’m not talking about sex here, dammit! I’m talking about…
Spring!
Frost heave!
A yard that due to 3 days of more-than-50-degree weather (yes!) has been freed from a layer of snow, only to reveal…
Hummocks.
Lumps.
Hollows.
Mud.
Seriously–I think we didn’t notice last year, because we weren’t out in the yard this early. This year, we have chickens in the coop in the backyard, so we need to be trudging across at least twice per day. And so, this year, we have noticed that the yard on either side of the septic tank is at least a foot-and-a-half higher than the area right over the septic tank. OmegaDad is in dire fear that this means we have a Problem with the septic tank; I am convinced that after a week or so more of 50-degree-plus weather it will subside.
When you step on certain spots on the lawn–spots that look nice and dry and solid, unlike the spots that are pools of mud–they crunch beneath you, plunging your foot four inches downward in a single instant. WHAM! So you’ve got these unnatural spots where you innocently stepped…and you’ve got the natural spots where the ground just sank because the ice has already melted from that one six-inch-square area, unlike the surrounds.
It is very interesting. It has the Omega Grownups thinking seriously of purchasing a roller drum for the tractor, so that we can smooth things out once the ground has thawed more evenly.
Today we had monsoon style clouds up over the mountains, and, once again, I cursed the fate that had me out and about without my camera. (”The fate”, aka foolish forgetful OmegaMom.) OmegaDad and I were driving to Home Debit, enjoying quality time together because the dotter is off having a Hannah Montana-filled overnight with best bud K. As we swept up into the parking lot, one of the clouds over one of the mountains simply…dropped. People who live in the southwest are familiar with this activity in the summer time thunderstorms; the precipitation beneath this one, however, was bright white rather than dark grey. It was a thundersnow dropping onto the side of the mountain, highlit by the sun, and it would have been a stunning, awesome picture. But I didn’t have my camera with me.
Damn.
Anyway, expect to hear more about SPRING! from me as the days go on. I am practically dancing with excitement!
posted in Alaska, Spring, Weather | 0 Comments
