Moderate Winter

In spite of some ice storms, the trees have fared quite well. I was most worried about the red oak; twice, the leaves have dragged it down, bowing it to ground level. This year, it kept erect through even the worst weather. It is finally stiffening up. The snow level in the woods is very low; I can see by the stumps near the big pine that we had about 30 inches more accumulation in 2010. The spring melt should be pretty unspectacular. Note: while I was out in the woods with the dogs this Saturday morning, a man named Gullison was killed nearby while snowmobiling. He mounted a snowbank, hit a tree, and died. We do not have a real lack of snow--just not as much as we grew used to over the last five years or so. I haven't had to shovel off a roof this winter; though this suggests a change, I recall that I did not shovel a roof for the first five years or so of living in Cross Creek.