It can be difficult to judge how much snow actually falls here because the snowstorms are frequently accompanied by high winds. One day last week the forecast was for 12 to 18 inches of new snow. It snowed hard all day and well into the evening, and the 40-knot winds left us with an interesting combination of bare, windblown ground and beautifully sculpted two-to-three foot drifts, as seen in the photo above.

My house is located at the foot of Black Dina Mountain, next to a sort of bowl-shaped low, marshy area which tends to capture the wind and send it spiraling, often leaving me unsure as to which direction it's actually coming from. I spent the day of the 40-knot blizzard next to my woodstove watching the storm out my front window. It was a lot like witnessing a snow-laden tornado with a duration of about ten hours. Even after a careful examination of the aftermath, I have no earthly idea how much snow we received.