Winter in Upper Granville
by S:
Gosh - What a winter! I am now very good friends with the local tow truck driver - having called him first in the summer to tow the lawn tractor out of the "ditch" at the front of the property and 3 times... YES! 3 times to get me out of the driveway - the snow, ice and my ineptitude with driving in true winter conditions were not a good combination. Thankfully the worst winter that this area has had in 10 years is behind us and we are looking forward to Spring!
I saw the first crocus of the season yesterday! And the bulbs we planted are poking their heads up so maybe another 4 - 6 weeks and we will have some Spring colour to show you all. 😊
by L:
the whole tow truck thing was NOT just because we're "from Away"... apparently, the usual monthly calls to CAA for tow assistance is about 400 calls a month - one week when they came to help S get clear, the drivr was saying they'd had 1500 calls THAT WEEK. So not just ineptitude or whatever... everyone was having same issues!
When the first snow was imminent we tried to find someone who would plow our driveway - but they dont really advertise... apparently a lot of the site construction companies who can't work when it snows rent out their machines for snow plowage - so impossible to find who they are. So, we waited and when the first fall happened, figured we'd just see how long the snow lasted and try to cope. The next morning - our driveway was plowed! We had no idea who had done it - neighbour's was done -wondered if they had done ours too... then, the next big dump - same thing - no idea who was plowing. We wondered if possibly the previous owners had a seasonal contract set up and hadn't let them know they had sold the house and were moving... and it turns out that was the case. S finally "caught them in the act" and confirmed that yes, we DID want to continue... but they didnt leave a card and we still havent received an invoice so we still don't know the company's name (or how much it is costing). Price is kinda irrelevant - driveway is too long and snow was too deep too often to leave it... appare
"YAY!", we thought, "New Year's Day and the snow is gone! Looks like winter won't be that bad after all!"
Boy, were WE wrong...
by L:
Jan 7 was a memorable day -first major power outtage - from about noon on Friday the 7th till about 6:30pmon Monday the 10th... was FREAKING cold -especilly for S & co upstairs. We had purchased some kindling, and had been left a small amount of firewoood by the previous owners - but not nearly enough for a continuous fire. S had to work, so on her way home she got more kindling and some wood, which got us through.... fireplace heated the living room downstairs but that's about it... was a very long three days. Since we knew it was a possibility that we might lose power due to the storm, we'd stocked up on bottled water and food that could be eaten without cooking, but we didnt realize how the power outage would affect the water - since we are on a well, and the pump is powered by electricity - no water for showers or flushing,,,, and (GASP OF HORROR) no coffee... it was bad....
Once the power came back we stocked up on wood and have enough now, for an extended storm - but of course we have not lost power since then, YAY!!
by L:
quite a long time to be without our mailbox - after the plow knocked it over early January we (S) went into Annapolis Royal to let Canada Post know - they held our mail for us without charge... normally they charge $10/week but under the circumstances let us slide... "we" went in weekly to get our mail. At the beginning of March they let us know they would have to start chargning because other post offices were charging... so we paid for 2 weeks, to start 3 days later - then next day the box was installed (thanks, Gordy!). Since the "official" mail holding service hadnt yet started, Canada Post gave us a refund...
funny note about the plow - Dept of Hwys RULE is that mailboxes must be 32 feet away from the centre line - which would put ours (and pretty much eveery other one along our road) firmly in the ditch/culbert.... safe to say, there are NO boxes that far back....