Frozen

Yesterday, after the storm had passed the sun was shining brilliantly but everything was now covered with about 5 cm (2") of ice.  

With lots of work we finally pried one car door open and eventually made it out the driveway too. 

The main roads were sanded and salted well so we proceeded down to the beach.

Because of the icy temperatures -14C (6.8F) and the big chance to slip and fall, I didn't dare to bring my camera, just my old cellphone. 

Therefor the smaller size of the photos.

The storm had removed a big chunk sandbank. Lots of ice buildup on the parking lot. The beach was partly frozen sand and wind too icy.

The frozen pattern on the ground shows how far the big waves reached,  right into the path. We decided to take the path through the woods instead. 

 Here the walking was easier, the frozen snow gave better traction and the wind didn't bother us too much in between the trees.

In the bright sunshine it was downright beautiful.

Lots of small tracks on the ground showed how much alive the forest is.

Hare, rabbit and squirrel are busy moving around.

Dixie loved the outing after two days cooped up in the house. I am glad we took the opportunity because for today

 there is more rain in the forecast!

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Translation

Gestern war es wieder sonnig und wir entschieden uns einenSpaziergang zu unternehmen.

Erst aber mussten wir in unser Auto einbrechen. 

Die Türen waren alle festgefroren.

Nach einigem Hin und Her waren wir endlich auf dem Weg. 

Die Strassen waren gut gestreut, aber der Parkplatz am Strand war total vereist. 

Da der Wind zu eisig war entschieden wir uns für den Waldweg. 

Am Strand konnte man sehen wie weit die Wellen in den Pfad reichten.

Im Wald war das Gehen auf dem gefrorenen Schnee wesentlich leichter.

Unser Hund genoss die Freiheit auch, sie hat so viel Energie die 

sie erst einmal wieder abrasen musste.

Ich bin froh dass wir uns zum spazierengehen aufgerafft hatten den heute ist es wieder

grau und es soll noch mehr Regen geben!

Arctic - Ice

So far winter was relatively easygoing,

 but January has now dealt us the worst

weather one can get.

ICE

First it started out snowing heavily.

That's ok, we can deal with that.

Shovelling dry fluffy snow is ok.

I have no problem with that.

But - no. It didn't stop there.

By late afternoon temperatures rose to above freezing 

and the snow turned into rain.

Instantly flash freeze turned everything into a mess.

Shovelling half frozen concrete mush

soon became impossible.

Coat, mittens and hats were heavily encrusted

within minutes. 

We got some walkways done and removed 

part of the snow barrier that the plow heaped up.

Nearly too much and too heavy to do 

for us old folks.

It rained all night long with dropping temperatures 

and the morning showed everything under

a solid ice cover of about 3cm (1").

Walkways had turned into ice rinks, all cars were 

"cemented" in place, all doors frozen shut.

Walking was only possible on the snowy part which

is somewhat rougher than ice.

All major highways were closed at first, but later

were opened up for public travel again.

"Not recommended" was the the official road report advise.

I could easily understand why. Even sanded and salted 

the road stayed an ice rink.

In late October I had bought these studs for under my boots

and it turned out to be my best bet.

I felt a little like walking on a glacier but this was 

the only way to give Dixie her daily exercise.

When will the ice be gone? Bad news!

Not so soon. 

More arctic cold and snow is predicted 

with a windchill down to -30C (-22F).

Followed but a short "heatwave" with more rain 

before the temperatures will plunge again. 

No chance of melting the ice away 

anytime soon.

Counting our luck:

 we have enough food, firewood and 

we had no power outage.

Good.

We will see how we make it through this mess 

in on piece. 

 

Spring is only 3 month away!

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Translation

Bisher war der Winter recht mild aber jetzt hat der Januar uns das Schlimmste zukommen lassen. Eis.

Zuerst schneite es wie verrückt, aber Pulverschnee zu schaufeln ist ja kein Problem. 

Am Nachmittag allerdings stieg die Temperatur und der Niederschlag ging 

in Regen über.

Innerhalb kürzester Zeit war alles von einer Eisschicht überzogen. 

Das Schneeschaufeln wurde unmöglich. Es war wie nasser Zement.

Es regnete dann die ganze Nacht während die Temperatur wieder unter den Gefrierpunkt fiel.

Heute morgen war dann alles gut unter einer 3cm dicken Eisschicht versiegelt.

Die Autobahnen Hauptstrassen waren zuerst für den allgemeinen Verkehr gesperrt. 

Das konnte man leicht sehen.

Die Strasse war trotz Streusalz und Sand immer noch wie eine Schlittschuhbahn.

Glücklicherweise hatte ich mir im Oktober Spikes für unter die Schuhe gekauft.

Damit konnte ich wenigstens mit dem Hund ein kleines Stück laufen.

Wann wird das Eis verschwinden?

Schlechte Nachrichten.

Wir werden in den nächsten Tagen noch mehr Schnee und Regen bekommen.

Eisiger Wind wird auch nicht helfen. 

Das kann also noch dauern.

Aber wir bleiben optimistisch, müssen wir ja.

Wir werden schon heil durchkommen.

Holz und Nahrungsmittel sind vorhanden und es hat auch keinen Stromausfall gegeben.

Gut so.

Und in 3 Monaten ist wieder Frühling! 

First week of 2019

The first days of the new year brought some rain and a light dusting of snow. 

The grey, blue and white makes it so peaceful.

I know, a better photographer would have removed the blue recycling bin. 

Maybe next time. ;)

Today we were out again on another birding trip around the island,

saddled with binoculars and telescopes,

trying to figure out what types of birds stay around at this time of the year.

While the others were busy counting the feathered crowd

there was time to get some photos of the area too.

The "Friar" rock formation (above)

and the pillars of a winterized dock 

as well some Downy Birch trees made some good objects.

Lubec ME, on a calm winter day, seen from Campobello Island.

Some ponds containing more freshwater were partially frozen.

We found the "regulars", birds that stay around during the winter.

 But we also were lucky, together with a pair of

 Common Goldeneyes (left and center) 

we observed a rare

male Barrow's Goldeneye (right).

(Not the ideal photo, taken with a 200mm lens and cropped,

 but it will have to do to document it.)

Roosevelt Campobello Island Park area.

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Translation

Die ersten Tage im neuen Jahr brachten uns Regen und Schnee. Heute haben wir 

wieder eine Runde um die Insel gemacht um zu sehen wer von den

gefiederten Gästen anwesend war.

Während meine Freunde die Vogelschar zählten habe ich schnell 

noch ein paar Landschaftsaufnahmen gemacht.

Der Fels "Friar",die Pfähle des Bootsstegs, ein paar Birken sowie eine Aussicht 

in Richtung Lubec und über die kleineren Inseln.

Wir hatte Glück, auf einem halb vereisten Brackwasser, zusammen mit 

einem Paar Schellenten (Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), 

fanden wir eine seltene Spatelente (Barrow's goldeneye (Bucephala islandica).