Life on the Outer Coast

There was a winter storm warning for Saturday which materialized late Friday night. Light snow, but winds steady in the 20s. The visibility was very poor, most of the morning could see the ocean below the house, but Bamdoroshni island was not visible until early afternoon. The front windows were partially covered by snow, not because the wind was southerly, but the house must have been giving the the snow a swirl that landed it on the windows.

The birds spent most of the day down in the shrubbery below the deck and under the house, with a few forays up to the feeder. The species richness increased by one with the arrival of a sapsucker at the feeder tree.
Walked around the lake and to the cedar point in the early afternoon. In several places on the trail the wind had sculpted snow "dunes". The dunes were about 2 ft above the rest of the snow and had the typical curve and slip face form I've seen in sand dunes. The size was on the minature side, but the form was familiar. The wind was intense enough in these spots that the foot prints I'd made with my snow shoes were erased by the time I had returned (much less than hour). On the windward side of the island the weather still favored a face down sort of walk. Few bird tracks and none at all of mink. The leeward side of the island was more pleasant for walking, but just as quiet for songbirds. There were a few ducks in the cove by the dock (Mallards, Common mergansers, and Barrow's goldeneyes).
Decided to visit the Cedar pt on the west side of the island as I was curious if there were any lurking sea birds in the lee of the island or any mink tracks in the woods. Usually there are mink and/or otters there in the spring and summer, so I thought that they might be around. The walk was nice, the snow was deep enough to cover alot of the debris, but also quiet in terms of animals. Guess I was the only one silly enough to be out and about in such lovely weather. Several mew gulls on the west side playing (?) in the waves and wind. The low temperature was 17 and it made it to 35 before midnight.

Sunday was impressively different. Warmer and rainy and not so windy. The snow load on the roof started sliding off the roof and hitting the deck with enough weight to shake the entire house. The change in the weather is probably a useful thing at the moment. The water tank is only 1/3 full and last night the intake line to the septic tank froze...It's always interesting when you wash the dishes and find the water overflowing the laundry room sink and pouring onto the basement floor. Could have been much worse. The water line from the lake has been excavated and the water has made it half way up the hill to the house. Maybe tomorrow I can do laundry. Life is full of little pleasures.