Wacky Weather

Okay, I really don't want to complain, but... While I have enjoyed the warmer temperatures Vermont is seeing this winter, I'm also a little frustrated by the weather that the warmer air brings.

We've had a couple below zero days, which for mid to late January is a miracle around here. Usually by now we've had at least of week of 20 below nights and we are all wondering when the January thaw might grace us with its presence.

This year, we had a very brief below zero spell in December. And then January hit. We bounce between average temperatures to insanely warm temperatures. We've been in the low 50's which is amazing and extremely kind to our heating bills, but it also brings a down side. We've had TONS of rain. Flooding is our new weather warning. We don't get the typical blizzard watch, instead we get flood watches. Going ice fishing means risking your own life heading out on the lake - no one will do it. The ski slopes are taking a major hit.

Tonight a new issue reared its head. Years ago, the guy across the street was moving out and he arranged it so that drainage tiles would be put in for the purchasers. Unfortunately, he pointed the drainage down the hill right into the yard of the couple below him, and into my and my neighbor's yard. So as our yards fill up with water, it soaks into the water table and eventually if the water level gets high enough, it comes into our basement. Our neighbor had the foresight to tell us tonight that his sump pump had turned on. So immediately we went downstairs to check ours and sure enough the bucket was filled to the rim. Our problem comes from the fact that the "good friend" of our former neighbors who gave us a wicked deal on the pair of sump pumps almost a decade ago did a crappy job. He used a ten-inch bucket as our sump bucket and finding a new pump isn't easy. Our old pump hasn't been used in 5 years, so it wasn't working. Immediately a frenzy insued as we tried to figure out what we were going to do. The good news is my husband got the sump pump running. God bless the inventor of WD40!!! We're pumping out about 5 gallons every two hours right now, but I know from the past that that pace will pick up to 5 gallons a minute by tomorrow or Sunday.

So I guess getting back to my complaint--- Hey Mother Nature. I love the warmer temps, but could you slack up on the rain and snow now and give us a good dose of sun???