Long-time readers of Notes from the Hinterlands will know what March brings to central Maine—the return of Snow-Gauge Clif. Each week until the snow is gone, usually sometime the end of April, my husband, Clif, will venture forth with his trusty red yard stick to record the melt rate.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but by the time March rolls around, even Mainers who like winter—guilty as charged!—are ready for the snow to melt and for spring flowers to start blooming. But in northern New England, Winter is no hurry to make way for Spring. We just have to wait. And wait. And wait some more.
So without further ado, here is Snow-Gauge Clif, measuring the snow the first week of March 2021. When this picture was taken, it was raining, and there was about a foot of snow on the ground.
Here is Clif in the front yard.
And then in the backyard.
We always hope the snow will be gone by April 22, which just happens to be our youngest daughter’s birthday.
- Although I am confirmed homebody, this time of year my thoughts turn to places that are warm and free of snow. “Island in the Sun,” by Weezer, exactly captures my longing to escape March in Maine. (As I write, the rain has stopped, an Arctic wind is blowing, and the temperature, with the wind chill, approaches 20 below zero. And that’s Fahrenheit, friends. Plus we have lost our power.)
Notes From the Hinterland 
Definitely a low-snow year – Clif looks good out there 🙂 won’t be too long before we’re sniffing the spring flowers. 🙂
We can hope! Today definitely feels as though we are in the frozen north a long way from spring. 😉
A very low snow year!
Yes, not many storms at all. Is the same true for you?
For sure. It’s kind of like winter never really even came until February, and even then no major dumps like we usually have. Very strange.
Yes, very, very strange.
He is obviously doing a grand job.
He truly is!
Well, I like some snow, even a lot of snow, but about the time March rolls around, I’m starting to look for signs of spring.
We’ve lost power twice so far today! I hope that’s all.The house got down to 50° inside; didn’t have time to get back up to normal when poof, gone again. Hope you two are having better luck!
We lost it twice, too, but it came back on within an hour each time. Our wood furnace keeps us fairly warm.
We don’t get snow where I live and, as it is summer, today was 38 degrees C. We have had no water for three days now and very little rain for six years. What we do have – for a change! – is power. I can imagine how much you are longing for the snow to melt and the rain to stop and for spring flowers to appear. I have had my second swim of the day to both cool off and freshen up – what a strange world we all live in 🙂
Oh, gosh! What do you without water? Sounds terrible. Yes, a strange world. Sigh.
Oh no – I was going to say that doesn’t look so bad, but then I read you lost your power. Hope that is remedied soon.
Thanks! The power is back on.
I hope your power is back on by the time you read this. Hi Laurie. Spring is on its way.
The power is back! Thank goodness. What. A. Day.
Losing power is the very worst — I hope it returns soon. I imagine you Mainers have wood-burning fireplaces and gazillions of blankets, but minus-20 is COLD! Take care, Laurie!
It is back! We have a wood furnace with a good supply of wood. So we are able to stay fairly warm.
Hope you get your power back – in weather like that you need your heat and light. I was wondering when we would see the snow gauge again!
It is back! And snow-gauge Clif always makes his appearance during the first week of March.
Hope the power has returned and I have never looked forward to the all the snow melting as much as this year! I’ve added the great song to my music library.
The power is back. Love that song!
I love ‘Snow Gauge Clif’.
Three words:
Bring. Spring. ON!
You bet!
Always good to see Snow Gauge Clif out there measuring in the snow. Hope you don’t have too many power cuts. 🤞🤞
Yes, yes! We had two, but neither were for very long. Phew! What a day.
That is a terrible coda to your post. I hope that you get your power back soon.
We did, even though we lost it again. But all is well. The wind has died down and the power is back.
Phew.
It’s great to see snow-gauge Clif again Laurie and I hope the power will come back soon 🙏
It did come back soon, but then we lost it again. Fortunately, not too long the second time either.
I keep looking out to see if I can tell how much has melted and if it’s significant. So far, I’m not impressed. 🙂 We started the day at 8° with wind chill of -20. Wicked cold and windy all day here. Island in the sun sounds pretty darn good to me right about now.
Sure does! We lost our power twice today. Fortunately not too long each time. That was quite the wind we had.
The return of Clif!
Yes, yes!
Cheers to the star of the show. Given your location, you still have a good lunch of a bit more winter. 🙂
Thanks, Frank! We surely do. March has definitely come in like a lion.
One of my brothers has the same birthday as your April daughter. I hope his snow is gone by then, too, but he’s in Wisconsin, so who knows?
Time will tell, as it always does.
I think this year especially we all need the change that Spring brings! We have had a few days of frosty nights but sunny mild days – until today that is when normal service has been resumed with grey skies and chilly drizzle. I hope you thaw continues apace and that your power comes back on soon.
The power was not out for long, which was a very good thing, especially on such a cold day. Much warmer today!
Relieved to hear that. It is no joke being without especially as it affects your heating, water and cooking – without those cold weather is miserable.
That’s for sure! Somehow we manage, but it isn’t easy.
After our recent experience with cold and power loss, I felt immediate sympathy for you. Then, I remembered you’re Mainer’s, and prepared in a way this Texan, with her all-electric apartment — can’t be. Without any gas, a wood-burning stove, or a generator, I’m more than glad that the cold and snow are gone for a while!
I got such a kick out of Clif’s photos last year. I hope your melt is steady, but slow enough to not cause problems. Do you every have flooding up there with a fast melt?
So true! We have a wood furnace and a decent supply of wood, which means we can stay warm. But even in Maine, living in an all-electric apartment presents challenges when the power goes out. Hope those terrible storms are behind you. Yes, the rivers sometimes flood in the spring when the ice goes out. We do not live by a river, so there are no immediate threats to us. However, when my husband worked in Augusta by the Kennebec River, he had to keep an eye on the car when the water rose. Occasionally, he would have to move it before the parking lot flooded. Always something, isn’t there?
Good to see Cliffords back on the job 🙂
He takes it very seriously. 😉
Dammit – WP altered his name
No worries! I knew what you meant.
He’s back again! Is that really another year flown past.
I hope your power problems have resolved by now and you are warm and toasty again.
Right? Where does the time go? Yes, our power is back, and we are toasty and warm.
Spring is on the way down here. Some tree in town already flowering.
Nice video and music. I was not familiar with this group. One of the band members looks a bit like a young Jackson Browne.
You are way ahead of us. Yes, one of the singers in Weezer does look like Jackson Browne. Hadn’t thought of it until you mentioned it.