Mud Season.

3-19-11 VERMONT: Yesterday was even warmer, and I went skiing. The snow was soft, of course, but the warm, pleasant day had other skiers in t-shirts. There was a lot of thawing and melting, our snow pack is down maybe five inches. The snow that I walked on top of a few days back is now mush. Even with snowshoes, it is a slog getting around the pasture. The dogs were breaking through every other step and then used my snowshoe tracks.

The road was barely passable yesterday. The roads are messy, muddy, ridged, rutted, pot-holed and puddled. Last night was cold again and things stiffened up. The ruts are axle deep in wet spots. The town grader was here yesterday, but all he did was push the mud around. Any benefit was lost with the first car to go by. The art of driving means picking the driest spots and zig-zagging right or left to try and stay on top of the ridges. When you slide into the ruts, just keep going and hope the AWD gets you through. Fortunately the traffic is very light, only local folks dare these roads now.


Signs of Spring: Sap Buckets and Mud.

Muddy Ruts and Ridges.

The Third Rail Reappears.