New2Maine.com

I just finished a walk with my dog and was musing on the 12″ or so of snow on the ground in most places. There are snow banks as high as my head, and spring looks much farther off than two weeks. As I rounded a corner, I saw a car with a Sea Dogs bumper sticker which got me to thinking “I wonder when their home opener is? Is the field going to have to be plowed between innings?”

So I surfed over to PortlandSeaDogs.com to check it out. There, in a nice big red and blue banner, was the count down to the opener. 35 days until Hadlock Field hosts a ball game. It may flirt with 50° this weekend, but it only just got up to the freezing point today. It seems rather wishful thinking that it’ll be baseball weather in five short weeks. I sort of doubt Amber and I will be taking in the opening day festivities, but for those who are undeterred by wearing a parka to the park, ticket packages are on sale now. Maybe we’ll see you there. Just not until May…

It’s March here in Maine (well, okay, everywhere). That means the end of winter is within sight (theoretically). Except that I can’t see more than 10′ out my window right now because of the snow that’s falling harder than the Dow Jones Industrial Average (but not as hard as my 401(k)). So it’s definitely in like a lion this year. Let’s hope the lamb doesn’t get lost in the snow. She can’t come quick enough.

So winter has officially arrived in Maine, right on time. We got a warm-up Friday night with ~7″ of snow, and it’s been snowing for the last six hours now, with no end in sight. They’re calling for a total of nearly a foot and a half from this storm, which happens to fall on the first official day of winter, bringing the total on the ground to over two feet. I guess a white Christmas is a pretty sure bet now…

Update: Snowfall total was 15″, bringing the weekend total to just under two feet. Drifting, thanks to 30 mph gusts, left piles up to my waist in some spots. Oh, and we suffered a cracked pipe in the basement, so we’ve got a plumber hanging out today. I love winter!

So after a couple inches of snow, and temperatures reaching the single digits early this week, today we saw a high of 58°F with a pretty steady rain all day. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a high of 34° with some snow. What gives? I think Mother Nature is a bit confused…

Portland got a thin blanket of white today. It’s only maybe an inch, but it’s the first real snow fall of the year. Seems like it held off longer this year…