Poltrack Blog

  ALERT! At 3:00 PM I received a text alert on my phone about a a snow squall. I didn't pay much attention because these things are only a problem if you are on the road.  I remember a time when I was working in Acton, MA, I left work in the afternoon traveling along Route 119. The sun was out and the roads were clear. All at once the snow came. Visibility was down to nothing, the roads became slick. I creeped along following the tracks of the car in front of me. Thankfully I am now retired, so I can look out at the chaos without being part of the story. It is eerie how fast this came on, One minute the sun was out and then it was a white out. The birds didn't care, they are tough. Fifteen minutes later the sun returned. I'll be happy when Spring is here.

The 1938 New England Hurricane was a category 5 storm that killed 682 people, damaged or destroyed more than 57,000 homes and caused property losses estimated at $306 million ($4.7 Billion in 2016). Source Wikipedia . It did affect new Ipswich and the New Ipswich Historical Society has these three photos of storm damage. I have seen downed trees in the woods with new trees growing out of them, I assume they were knocked down during this storm.

If you can't walk on your driveway without spike crampons on your shoes then you probably shouldn't be driving. We did not get the 50 degree temperatures that were predicted. It rained all day as the temperatures hovered around the freezing point. The power went off for a couple of hours but thankfully it was all over by 4 PM when the sun appeared and lit up the ice coated hills. Ice on my Japanese Maple leaves Thankfully the ice didn't get any thicker than this The sun returned in the late afternoon I took a stroll to the Smithville Reservoir View of the flood control dam at the Smithville Reservoir Water in all its forms, clouds, water and ice

The wild temperature variations of the last two weeks have produced some interesting conditions on our rivers, lakes and ponds. We take our morning walk by the Smithville Reservoir, the flood control dam along the Souhegan River. when the water level dropped after the warm rains, the ice broke into some impressive sheets. So far we have avoided the flooding seen in other towns such as Peterborough and New Boston , but winter is not over yet. The ice ring on the tree indicates the water level at the peak of the rains Parker stands in front of one of the icebergs Blue Ice Great sounds from the ice as the sheets move It was very difficult to traverse this section, a combination of thin and thick ice. Next time I'll bring my Stabilicers. Is it Spring yet?

I had a nice lunch with my Mom at the Northeast Cafe in New Boston, NH. As we dined we watched large chunks of ice flow by in the raging Piscataquog River . It occurred to me that somewhere they were going to get jammed up. I didn't have to travel far downstream to find the spot. This was a result of our crazy New England weather. First a blizzard, followed by subzero temperatures, rain, fog and springlike thaw. This is just the start of the story, the ice is still gathering and another cold snap is predicted. Looking downstream (Route 13 in background) while standing on The Todd Bridge presented a field of large ice chunks. A number of people had gathered to look at a beaver dislodged (pun intended) by the gathering ice. I was too late to see it. As I stood on the bridge the water was beginning to creep over the roadway This shed was being flooded Looking up stream, those speeding ice chunks kept coming.

It's nice to watch the Christmas Television Specials depicting happy loving families walking in soft snow toward a log cabin in the woods with a snowman outside and Christmas lights softly glowing.. The reality is falling in the driveway and breaking a hip, or skidding into a ditch on an ice patch on the way to the mall to buy that last present. What a treat in 2015 when there was no snow, spring-like temperatures and carefree road conditions. It was a once in a lifetime event. The weather forecast for Christmas Eve and Day 2017 is not encouraging. A chance of a mix of  snow and freezing rain. If we get more than 1/2 inch of ice there is a good chance of losing power. So much for the twinkling lights. We'll see how it goes. Merry Christmas Josh & Emily on Christmas Day in New Ipswich Matt grabs a  Christmas Nap (Note the lack of snow)   www.poltrack.net

Some photos taken on Dec 12th, 2008 after a night of freezing rain, no power and crashing trees. Angelika & John Weber were prepared, they had wood and a generator What a mess, many closed roads Need an ice scraper  Fox Farm Road Bob Kicaid got a direct hit on his pickup and lost a screen house I still miss having this Dolgo crab apple tree Bob Kincaid assesses the damage to his truck Ouch   www.poltrack.net

The only bright spot during this dreadful weather pattern is the constant appearance of hummingbirds around the feeders. The rain seems to have dampened the flowering of their native food sources so the feeders are quite attractive to them. It’s great being a teleworker, I can work while listening to Hank Williams and watching hummingbirds. Now if it would only … please… STOP RAINING!

                    Unfortunately the damage caused by the ice storm has not abated since December 12th. My neighbor's stately oak was split quite badly by the storm and met it's end today. This tree has been here for as long as I remember and because it was growing by itself instead of competing with other trees, it grew into a spreading form. It is a little difficult to estimate it's age because the outer rings are faint, but we are guessing about 70 years. So many years to grow and so few moments to fall.

We had a moment of false hope on day 9 when the utility truck arrived on our road and started working on our pole. I was certain that this was going to be the day for the restoration. Apparently when the trees came crashing across the lines, the insulators on many of the transformers were torn off. Alas our poor transformer suffered this fate and the crew removed it and drove off. This was a dark day for Ginny and I, knowing that current was running along our street and illuminating our neighbor's Christmas trees. Day 10 brought some unwelcome heavy snow which hampered the work crews progress. The temperature plummeted and we decided to move our sleeping quarters to the first floor. In the coldest days the basement was a comfortable 69 degrees (wood stove), the living room was 57 degrees (the floor was 63 degrees) and the second floor was 52 degrees (acceptable with a down comforter). Day 11 was bright but very cold and when the crew arrived with our new transformer, it was just ge...

All our neighbors had power as of 6:30PM on Wed... but not us.. apparently there are five "issues" on the line and they are working on it. So we are shoveling snow and showering at mom's. Also sweeping water in her basement (underground stream that sump pump didn't get with power off) and doing laundry. Ah.. 6 days into this is getting old. Ice can be hazardous! The welded lawn sculpture that Jesse made "the gardener" was speared from behind by a branch through the shoulder and out the front of his chest! Yikes.

We’re in a serious weather event – ice storm w. major power outages, but we have no idea about what is going on since we don’t have communications access. I took Mom around for my Saturday errands. Fortunately they did have power where I was scheduled for my haircut…nice to get a shampoo. And then I went to the gym for a shower. When we got back to town we went to the elementary school to check out the first run of our “emergency shelter” situation. Since they needed a midnight to 6AM shift “supervisor” we volunteered. [Mom felt she wanted an “adventure” Actually Mom is the one who could stay up all night reading her Jodi Picoult book.. I slept. Weird to sleep in the gym where I taught 22 years ago! ] In town, we do have two couples who have been trained in CERT Community Emergency Response Training – a national program for community members to be prepared in event of emergencies. They have been putting in 12+ hours a day shifts. Picture of Mom w. walkie talkie (is it still called tha...