Winter 2024-25 | Boutique Reneé

Winter

2024-25

Winter 2024-25 was actually pretty mild. We received one snowfall in November and one snowfall in December and neither were deep accumulations and each one melted within a few days to a week. We had zero snowfall in the month of January 2025. Even with a mild November and December and no snow in January, my husband and I never count out Old Man Winter entirely, as we know that February can surely bring lots of snow. And, we were right. February 2025 brought most of the snow for the entire winter. We got about three separate snowfalls, for about a total of 18" for an overall accumulation, which is actually a low accumulation for our area. But, I'm happy for a mild winter, as it becomes more and more difficult for me to shovel snow. We are blessed to have a 4-wheeler with a blade that my husband uses to clear the snow from the area around our home and driveway and I help by using a snow shovel to get along the areas that are too narrow for the blade. Thankfully, two of the snowfalls were powder and that stuff is easy to push with a shovel - easier than even using a push broom on a shop floor.

A December 16, 2024 snowfall gives our outdoor Christmas decorations a bit of a festive touch. Inside Christmas decor was done in a blue and gold theme.

January 2025 had no snowfalls, but February 2025 finally welcomed Old Man Winter.

This first snowfall of February wasn't huge, but it was enough for my husband to fire up the 4-wheeler and make enough passes around to make it easier for us to drive up the driveway and into our garage. The picture to the right of the 4-wheeler is the pathway alongside our garage that continues to the alley, that my husband also plows for our neighbors' convenience, as they only have alley access to their homes. So, when he plows, he makes a big circle by starting in front of our home, then plows alongside our garage, down the alley, up the city's 5th Street, and then up our driveway.

The Mountain Ash tree berries look beautiful as they hang heavy with snow. Same for the bare Lilac bushes along our side yard.

The usual suspects of critters making the best of the winter climate with a little help from the seed, peanuts and water provided for them.

Fox Squirrels

Black-capped Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Dark-eyed Junco

California Quail

Eurasian Dove

The cluster of berries that hang on the Mountain Ash trees once the leaves are gone, are magnets for flocks of Cedar Waxwings (above), American Robins (right) and Starlings (below) to fly in and have a feast.

Although the raccoons have had a presence around here for over 25 years, a sighting of one during the day is rare. Caught this little fella grabbing a drink at the (heated) water bowl we provide.

Whitetail deer are year round visitors along with wild turkey. Except for the Dark-eyed Juncos shown above, all the critters shown on this page (and some not shown) are here year round. I was bummed we didn't have any moose visit this year, but our neighbor a block away had a few sightings. We feel blessed to live just a few blocks off Main Street on a not-through street that backs up to a forested area that gives us a certain amount of privacy as well as a front row seat to all the beautiful wildlife that surrounds us. All in all, it was a good winter.