Cold cuts for two

The snow stopped at around 4pm yesterday, after a final blast that created white out conditions. The house is cocooned with blown snow heaped up on all sides and of course on top of its almost flat roof.

Are igloos and ice palaces naturally warm? Is a layer of snow a benefit as insulation, compared with no layer of snow? Or does the snow conduct heat away from the fabric of the house. Answers on a Christmas card or $20 bill please.

We were too lazy to put away torches, tables and chairs before the storm and I am rather glad I didn't. All day I watched as the layer built up, like soft icing sugar on a cake, spilling on to the chairs and gliding down on to the ground. The torches with their flames snuffed out by snow caps make a statement about the persistence of cold over heat.

Clean up took 3 hours using snow blower, and shovels, but the sun was warm, the sky bright and the breeze non existent. So the first storm of the year was earlier than last and wasn't too bad. In fact it made a rather fine table setting.

Snow joke for feathered friends

Today brought the first "real" snow of the winter, a blast that has deposited 9 inches since 6 am and won't let up for a while.
With it came a feeding frenzy of birds. The feeders were full at 9am, but I just counted approximately 70 birds flying around it, goldfinches, tufted titmouse, black cap chickadee, wood doves, red cardinals, blue jays, purple finches, dark eyed junco, white breasted nut hatches. How many do you see?