Defining Skiffs

There's been much discussion over on Bits and Pieces about what a skiff is.

I've used that term to describe the magnificent snows we've gotten here in Dirtmanland this winter.

Monday's storm was no exception. It started snowing around 9 pm Sunday evening and continued through the night. Our first inkling on the magnitude of the snowfall was at 5:20 am when we got the automatic alert phone call from the local school system announcing school was closed for the day.

We awoke two hours later thinking we'd be spending the day shoveling snow so we could meet with civilization. Instead, this is what we saw: Another skiff - less than an inch of snow on the ground.

At least our birds enjoyed winter's respite and our hi-grade seeds.

The wind, however, was blowing 30 mph and, with the occasional leftover flurry, we did have drifting snow across the state road in front of our house:


Two more hours and the sun was out and most of our snow was barren on the ground. Here, our beloved Aussies are enjoying their time outdoors while we contemplated rest inside.

And, so John of Wisconsin (not to be confused with J*** of Nowhere), this is how we live here in Dirtmanland. We'd welcome the opportunity to trade places with you for a season just so as long as the pups can come with us.