The Big Blizzard of 2007!

Valentine's Day of 2007 delivered a bouquet of love from Mother Nature in the form of snow: A whopping 23 inches of it where I live in the western foothills of Maine!! This is the first significant snowfall we have experienced this entire winter. The snowmobilers were complaining (whining would be closer to the truth) about the lack of snow pack that allows them to ride with glee over hill and dale like little kids sledding down a hill! Well, they cannot complain any longer. They can ride to their heart's contentment.

It took two plowmen to keep my driveway manageable while the storm was laying down a white carpet of snow. One plowman (a Mr. Kennedy) lost the transmission on his Dodge Ram 4x4 and could not continue. Two snow blowers malfunctioned (broke down) before they could be used. If it wasn't for the wonderful help I received from a teenager (Lucus), I would not be able to leave my house and get into my car. Ah, the young and able bodied; so full of energy, so powerful of muscle, (this particular young man) so eager to help in a time of need!

So I leave you with pictures: the before and after of the great storm of 2007! The photos are self-explanatory, so I haven't provided captions.

Cold Weather And Strange Cloud Formations

Well, we had our Snow Storm. They predicted we would get anywhere from 8 to 12 inches this past Monday (January 15th). Thank goodness, we only got about five and one-half inches! I don't suppose it had anything to do with me asking help from the Earth Goddess (Mother Earth)?! I silently said a prayer asking "if we really did not need to receive all of the snow predicted, please let it bypass my area."

We are however, in the midst of some very frigid temperatures! The temperature dropped to minus 4 degrees last night, and we never made it above 2 degrees above zero today! We are scheduled to go back down to 4 degrees below zero again tonight. Thankfully the house made it through the cold! I remember a few years ago temperatures were below zero for about a week and the water line running from the well into my house froze. Water pipes are placed below six feet to prevent freezing, but that particular year the cold was so intense for such a long period of time, it traveled below the permafrost line. One year, my toilet line froze and would not flush! I shouldn't have to tell you what a panic that created!

Tomorrow we will be having a 'heat wave' when the temperature climbs to 28 degrees! But looking at the internet weather service, we will experience cold temperatures for at least another 8 or nine days where we will not see anything above 30 degrees. A darn site better than 30 below!!

Yesterday on the 16th the sun was in its setting phase and I happened to look out the window and saw the most unusual cloud formations! I have never seen any like these before (in person), so being the 'camera bug,' I grabbed my camera and dashed outside in the frigid, bone-chilling weather (no coat and hat) to grab these beauties while they were still 'available.' If you would like to view a larger format of the pictures below, just place your cursor over a photo and click.

These photos capture what is uncommonly recognized as "cloudships." Cloudships are supposed to be alien spaceships 'cloaked' in clouds during daytime as they go about their earth missions. If you do a "Google" you can get other pictures such as the one below. Here are a few links: http://www.bariumblues.com/lenticular.htm and http://www.etfriends.com/lisacloudpix.html When visiting the second link, wait until the page loads and scroll about halfway down to see actual photos of similar cloudships.

Wierd Weather And New Knitted Articles

It has been a long time since I have posted. But I intend to amend that today. Winter has begun in my portion of Maine. Temperatures have dropped. We have had a few nights of being in the 20's and teens. Single digit nights are due this coming week for a few evenings. Snowfall has been light. We have had two snowfalls (a blessing in this part of the country). Nothing over 4 inches; but last week, we had snow and freezing rain which could have been worse, but was still a slippery mess. We are supposed to be 'blessed' with about six inches in the next few days! Yuk, Yuk, Yuk, Yuk Yuk!!!
Last week we had a strange weather occurrence (for lack of a better word). We had fog appear on the ground in bright sunlight! I have never seen this before, and it went on for over 2 hours. I ran outside to capture a few photos, but my camera is not as sophisticated as I would like it to be. Who knew I would be taking pictures of fog when I picked it out two years ago? Here are a few examples. By the way, if you require a larger version of the pictures on my blog, just place your cursor over the photo and click. A larger picture will download for you.
The first picture shows the top of my driveway overlooking the property next door. You can see the top of a mountain in the background. Some fog can be seen thru the trees.



In the picture below, If you look closely you can see the bottom of my driveway covered in fog...


Note the fog mingling in the tree branches.......



My knitting needles are always busy. I love creating, but they also allow me to 'wick off' excessive creative energy. If I couldn't create something with my hands, I think I would go stark raving mad in this world. I always feel the need to create something on some level. Needless to say, my house is filled with yarn. Yarn that I will never use unless I live to be 100, and never buy another skein....
I have been treating myself with wool yarn these past 5 months since I have found an inexpensive Canadian source online. I have also experimented with 'felting' the wool yarn. It has been interesting, and I am still in love with knitting and upgrading my skills.

I am now working on knitting my first pair of adult wool socks using 4 double-pointed needles ( a nightmare to learn to juggle if you ask my opinion)! When I am done, I will post a picture. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of what I have done recently.




The photo above shows a pair of baby socks I knitted and felted using wool yarn. Felting makes the fabric warmer. For those who do not know what felting is: Felting occurs when you take wool and douse it in hot soapy water. The cheaper the soap, the faster the felting process occurs. You can actually feel the wool tighten up in your hands as you constantly dip it in the hot soapy water, scrubbing it back and forth between your hands. You can use a washing machine, but for small articles, the kitchen or bathroom sink is great and more economical!



Above is a miniature sweater I knitted last week. I placed a quarter along the lower left hand side so you can gauge just how tiny the sweater is. What do I plan to do with it? Call me nuts, but I plan to place it in a black frame (minus the glass) on black matting and call it "Miniature Fiber Art".... I think it would look great hanging on someone's wall or sitting on a coffee table! Anyone interested? I can be reached at delores@exploremaine.com.



Here is another Baby Car Seat Blanket I knitted for the new grandaughter of a friend... The babies have been arriving 'enmasse' in 2006. The little 'Wonders" just can't wait to get down here for some reason!

More Deer and Latest NeedleWork......

We were blessed with a return of the Doe and her fawn.



Here is the mother Doe alone. Isn't She beautiful?!!



And you know I have to keep those knitting needles of mine going......
This sweater and hat set is for little Ruth Drake. Her mother loved the color combination. I also made the buttons out of clay.

Latest Venture

Well, every respectable leaf has dropped from the trees here in the Foothills of Maine. If it weren't for the millions of pine trees in Maine, this state would look so desolate in the Fall-Winter season. I so hate this time of year. Our planet is supposed to return to its' original 'temperate' condition in a few years and I cannot wait! If we could just do away with the winter, life would be so much grander for myself and quite a few others.

Right now, it is raining to beat the band outside. Flood warnings are up for most of Maine's counties and high wind warnings are supposed to be in effect later this weekend. Temperatures have dropped and most folks have been using heat for more than a few weeks now.

I have been using my creative energy to knit baby things for an adorable 4 month old named Ruth Summer Drake (who lives in my town), a sweater and hat set for my cousin Michelle who just gave birth to her first child in Los Angeles; and a Baby Blanket for another cousin's baby who is not scheduled to enter the world until November.



Ruth needed a Car Seat Blanket to keep her toasty while visiting friends and relatives.



Here is a hat, a pair of Thumbless Mittens and a pair of socks for Ruth. The socks are knitted from wool so they are sure to be extra warm.



Finally, here is little Ruth modeling her hat! Isn't she Cute??!!!



Here is the Baby Blanket for my 'Yet-To-Be-Born' cousin next month.



Here is the Kimono-type Sweater and Hat for my cousin Michelle's Baby Boy.