Hilltown winters are not for the faint of heart. It takes the heartiness of a New Englander to endure them.  The winter of 2002/2003 was a little unusual though, and would tax even the heartiest of the lot.

The upper left picture was taken in February of 2003. It was an especially tough winter in the Hilltowns. Average daily temperature was below normal, cumulative snowfall significantly higher than normal. Winter snowfall began in October and by mid-December Worthington had accumulated over 60". On January 4, 2003 we were blessed with an additional 24". And so it went right through April. It was a winter that lasted 6 months.

Swamp Road Wood Works is located in the red barn shown in both pictures at left. Note that you can walk from the ground to the roof of the barn. Note also there are three garage doors in the picture at lower left. One into the barn which cannot be accessed because of snow, one completely covered (the path to the roof), and the left most one which I try to keep shoveled so I can park in the garage. However, the trip into the garage requires 4 wheel drive and a good deal of courage as you travel over a 2-3 foot snow mound.

At right is a view from my kitchen window. Later that month it was completely blocked with no outside light available.

The winter of 2008/2009 brought another surprise. This time an ice storm. It began the evening of December 11, 2008 and continued through Friday December 12th. I have written about this storm on my blog and you can access it at http://www.srww.com/blog/?p=136. You can view additional pictures at http://www.srww.com/ice_storm/index.html.

New Englanders are indeed a hearty bunch.