Papa Pea had purchased this "temporary" pole framed/heavy plastic walled shelter second-hand a couple of years ago, but we'd never set it up. What better time to try it out than to provide some protection for my car this winter?
You'll notice it has a roof, but no sides. That's because the four sides have been taken down after about the fourth onslaught of our frustratingly high winds this winter. I'm sure the sides would have ended up in shreds if we hadn't removed them. The grommets holding the sides to the framing ripped out. The heavy Velcro strapping tore off. The bottom-to-top zipper on the front "door" piece was constantly being unzipped by the wind.
Well, it seemed like a good idea.
You may also notice the car is no longer under what's left of the shelter. See the ice on the ground where the car should be? A small lake formed there after the heavy rains we had in January. (Rain? In January in northern Minnesota? Yup.)
Then cold weather came. All four of the car's tires froze in the
Can you believe that ice? Perfect for ice skating.
Here's another icy-dicey situation. These are some of my raised garden beds that are peeking through the melting snow. Notice the second one on the right? And the third one on the left? They are filled with water which has frozen. I've never had this happen. The soil (and drainage) in the beds should all be the same. So what's going on with these two beds?
Do you suppose there are any fish under there?
21 comments:
Wellllll would be convielnent for ice fishing. Crazy weather!
We have an easy-up, we use for outdoor events. If I put it up on the north side of my house, the wind will take it completely off the ground. If I put it on the south side it holds down pretty well. The weather here is wicked again too.
Mama Pea,
Good thing you moved your car when you did otherwise it may have been stuck there for a couple of months. I've seen this happen plenty of times when I used to live up there. In fact, it evened happened in Oklahoma 8 years ago in an ice storm.
I would have flipped if my tires froze in the ice!!! Too bad you can't use that "tempo". Back in 2010, I rented one for the winter and keeping the snow off the roof of the thing was a horrible challenge for me because that was a big snow season. I was sure I'd rip it apart. But in the wind, it did tear and one of the velcro straps flew to the unknown. The company wanted to charge me and I kept saying things like "act of God"...I refused to pay for it and it was the last time I rented one! I guess like Kristina does, it needs to be on the side of the house where it's more sheltered...which is a little ironic don't you think? A shelter needs shelter! Mind boggling this early in the morning lol...What's up with your raised beds? Drill a hole and set up a fishing rod, see what you catch for dinner hee hee!
I'd be interested in knowing how you were able to get ALL FOUR TIRES free! I have dips in the carport and they inevitably fill with water - the same problem. We had torrential rain in February...and then it flash-froze my two front tires into the small ponds in the carport. It was a little hairy getting them free. I am SOOO ready for spring.
Hope everything unthaws soon.... looking at all that ice made me feel very chilly!
Goatldi - Yep, wouldn't even have to put up the ice fishing tent! ;o}
Kristina - Wicked weather for you, too, huh? Talk about fickle spring time!
Sandy - I never even thought about the car getting frozen in when we saw the water puddling up there. I thought we should just leave it until the ice melted, but hubby didn't like that idea!
Rain - The thing was the shelter was up against the lean-to on the garage on one side with dense woods on the back of it. Who would have thought enough wind would get in there to do the damage it did? Not us.
Susan - I kept thinking of you with your carport that is much like our shelter. Papa Pea chipped the ice on both front and back sides of all the tires (being very careful not to hit the tires) and was actually able to "break" them free by putting the car in 4-wheel drive BUT they were so far down in the ice ruts that they could get no traction to drive out. They just spun (spinned?) in the rut. So we hooked up the Suburban to the Tracker and all I had to do was give it one small pull with the truck and it was out of the ruts. The exciting (?) part was when hubby was free but still on the ice, he didn't think he was going to be able to stop before bumping into me in the truck! Fortunately, he did. :o/
Vera - We certainly still have plenty of it!!
I'm sure it's not all that funny to you, but you sure do have some of the funniest stories. I've never heard of anyone's car freezing to the carport floor. 😬
Laurie - If we don't keep our sense of humor, sometimes it would all be too much to bear. Hubby almost couldn't believe it when he first tried to move the car . . . and couldn't. The really strange thing is that we've never had standing water in that spot before in the 21 years we've lived on this land. Was someone or something trying to tell us we shouldn't park the car there??
Mad. No heavy frosts here really this winter. I'm just thinking about direct sowing some carrots and yesterday I was in a t shirt in the garden! Mind I think you tend to have better summers!
Mad. No heavy frosts here really this winter. I'm just thinking about direct sowing some carrots and yesterday I was in a t shirt in the garden! Mind I think you tend to have better summers!
Wow! What another Minnesota adventure to add to your book of Adventures!! Cannot even imagine. And I thought our weather was crazy going from 75 degrees to a dusting of snow. :)
Kev - Isn't it strange how our gardening seasons are so different . . . and yet we all manage to grow a lot of food for our families!
Lisa - Yep, first time we've had a vehicle frozen in ice! ;o} Ya just never know . . .
I wish you could send some of that moisture down south. We are still very dry here.
Having a car frozen to the ground must be a first!
Glenda - We've had ice storms before when we kinda had to "break" tires away from the snow and ice, but never anything like this situation.
Oh, going into spring time with dry conditions is never good. Maybe warmer weather, as it comes to stay for good, will bring you lovely spring rains. I hope so.
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