The Winter of 2026

 Hello Everyone,

We finally were able to dig our way out of the cabin yesterday.  We felt like two prairie dogs with bad backs digging their way through 4' of snow. The storm wasn't only brutal, it felt as though we were two-bit actors in a disaster movie. I took this picture last Tuesday while I could get through the snow to the back of the lot.  There's absolutely no way I could navigate my way down there now through the hip-deep snow.

This picture was taken on Wednesday of the front of the cabin.

We tried to keep up with the shoveling, but the snow was coming down just as fast as we could shovel. One of our woodpiles is under the big lump of snow.

This was on Thursday when the sun came out briefly. There really are two cars underneath all the snow.

This is a daily progression of the snow, taken from the master bedroom.

Thanks to the help of two neighbors, one of the cars was unearthed.

The power went off on Monday night 2/16, and we haven't seen a flicker of electricity since.  The power is supposed to be restored Wednesday, 2/25.  I'll believe it when I see the light(s)! We turned our generator on for only two hours in the morning and two in the evening to conserve our 5 gallon propane tanks.  We were rationing propane like it was gourmet truffle oil! While we had electricity, I sewed like a madwoman!

I marked and trimmed what seemed like hundreds of HST when the power was off, and would get everything organized to make blocks.

The last forty-four blocks are all prepped and waiting to go under the needle.

Many quarter-square triangles are waiting to be trimmed.

My community of Arnold is in a state of emergency.  Trees came down like matchsticks all around town.  We lost five trees on our two lots.  Two trees hit our deck, and one tree hit the cabin.  We can't really assess the damage until the snow melts. 

The snowplows couldn't get through due to all of the downed trees and abandoned cars stuck on the roadway. Downtown Arnold is a mess!  The parking lots at the post office and the grocery store are staging areas for all of the emergency vehicles.

One of our sons asked everyday if we needed him.  We did need him, but he couldn't get to us. Our main propane tank is currently buried somewhere under a snow drift that might be large enough to qualify for its own zip code. The kids are coming up next weekend, and we're handing them each a shovel. Whether they help dig or use them to escape is up to them. The last I heard, there are 400 people on the list waiting for a delivery and we only have 16% or 40 gallons currently in our tank. We have to clear a path to the tank before the propane can be delivered.

If there's one silver lining to the storms, it's how our community showed its true colors.  Neighbors helping neighbors, people sharing whatever they had, everyone checking on everyone.  It was like a rugged mountain version of a potluck, but with generators and snow shovels instead of casseroles.

We adore our community and the beauty of living up here in the mountains.  But, if we're being honest, at our age it might be time to take a thoughtful look at how many more winters we want to wrestle with Mother Nature's mood swings.  She's impressive but also exhausting. Now, she is gearing up to deliver an atmospheric river of rain starting tonight!  Maybe the kids won't have to shovel!

Soon,

Lynn