Monday, January 9, 2006, 2:20 pm: It’s snowing again; but that’s northern Maine for you. Not a lot is coming down at the moment, maybe less than two inches since yesterday evening.

Rural life is a bit more physically demanding than city life. I was out this morning with a pick removing ice that had accumulated under our garden gate. It was really stuck! Of course two cups of espresso helped me to get the job done in near record time.

Oddly our resident blue jays [Cyanocitta cristata] seem to be finding their way into our garage and perch on the rafters. Almost daily I have to raise the garage door and wave my arms, which usually doesn’t work, to get them to fly outside. In the end I keep the door raised just long enough until they eventually fly out on their own. They are rascals.

Our current values from our Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 17 degrees (F)

Barometer: 29.94 and falling rapidly

Humidity: 78%

Precipitation: < 2 in. of snow

Winds: NE light & variable - currently calm

Visibility: ca. 2 miles

Low temp. since midnight: 3.7 degrees F at 12:31 am

High wind since midnight: 3 mph at 10:37 am