Diane, I'm having the same problem. Luckily we've had quite a thaw recently and I am finally able to get in there again, but that won't be for long as I'm sure the white stuff will be flying again soon. I've been thinking of contructing an entryway in front of the door. It would help keep quite a bit of wind from blowing in from around the doorway and it would keep the snow and ice off the door track.

Ok, time to get serious about the voles/moles. DH said he saw a critter last year that looked like it had no eyes, so I showed him a photo of a mole and he said that was it. I guess it doesnâÂÂt matter because I was reading that it starts with moles and then the voles use the mole tunnels. I havenâÂÂt seen any tunnels in the lawn. As others have pointed out theyâÂÂre most likely eating the crocus and the leucojum I just planted, the buggers. I still have a thick layer of leaves on the perennial beds and I'm avoiding walking in them still. This weekend I'll get the rake out and see what's going on under the leaves and look for any kind of home they are living in. I just read that itâÂÂs $50. for a roll of hardware cloth that is 4ft x 25ft and suggestions are that I staple it to the bottom of all my vegetable beds. That will take about 3 rolls to accomplish. And another roll in the fall to make baskets to plant bulbs in. Good thing we are just now building new beds anyway, but what an added expense. I found a link that discusses moles in detail and all the different solutions. Link below. From reading it, IâÂÂm getting the impression that IâÂÂm always going to have issues with these critters, because my gardening practices are exactly what they are attracted to. I probably will be able to get rid of them but others will probably move in over time attracted to my property. So I guess itâÂÂs just vigilance. IâÂÂm wondering about the castor oil. According to the article, the earthworms get coated with it and they become distasteful and the moles leave, but what about the earthworms, is that killing off the earthworms in the process? I read the thread on the repellant, and do I understand correctly that you only add the ingredients into a watering can, stir and pour around the plants you are trying to protect and any tunnels you find? What about the perimeter of your beds or along the property lines or is that overkill? Is it only certain perennials that they all bother? Here is a link that might be useful: Moles - Living with Wildlife

Gee, Kat, why didn't you just shovel it all onto your grass? LOL! Should I stop making "helpful" suggestions! Shoveling it ANYWHERE is hard enough! Sorry to hear yours all landed in the Wrong Place! MANY years ago (back in the early 70's!) I lived in a little house in far south Aurora, and we got a storm like this last one, but even more snow and even more wind, and the way it happened to blow between the neighbor houses it ALL seemed to wind up RIGHT in front of our garage! It went all the way up to the roof, and if the snow had been hard enough we could have walked up the Snow Mountain and walked straight onto the roof! When we first went out after the storm and saw it, it was hard to really believe there was THAT much snow there! So I do know where you're coming from! It was kinda like: Could we possibly dig a tunnel thru it to drive the car out of the garage--rather than having to shovel it ALL!!! As near as I can tell I wound up with about 15" total. When I finally got out to measure it today I was getting 14", but the sun had been shining on it for quite a while at that point, and there was no question that it was well into the process of "settling down!" But one thing I know for sure; there is a LOT of moisture in it, and it really is gonna do a great job of watering everything. When I looked out the front door last nite about 12:30, trying to figure out just how hard it was still snowing, I noticed some flashing lites at the end of the block, and then I heard, Beep, Beep, Beep! It took a minute to figure out what was going on in the middle of the nite, but there was a city plow out there plowing the residential streets. When I looked more closely--over the shoveled pile along my walk, I discovered they had already plowed the road in front of my house! I thought that was kinda nice of Thornton--even if I don't need to go anywhere! And with the sun today now the plowed part is bare and dry again. Lots of piles, still, along the edges where people have shoveled their walks and drives--and shoveled out their cars that were parked on the street! By the end of the week we're supposed to be well back up into the 40's and maybe even back up to the low 50's so I'm guessing that even most of the piles will be gone by next weekend if they're in the sun! That's the kind of snowstorms EVERYBODY should have! Shhhhh! Don't tell anybody else about out Miraculous Disappearing Snowstorms or everybody will be moving here! We need to keep this to ourselves! Do any of you remember the March Blizzard of 2003? Funny story! I was working in San Fran at the time, and commuting back and forth, and the Blizzard happened when I was on the west coast. Being in the Airline Business, needless to say I was hearing plenty of stories about how bad it was and about all the flites that were being cancelled. The total (official) snowfall was just short of three feet (in about 24 hours I think it was), and when I had days off and was able to come home again it was on the third day after the storm, and I REALLY wanted to come home so I just made up my mind that I'd shovel my car out of the parking lot--no matter how long it took, and find some way to get home! I got back to DIA and onto the parking lot bus, determined that I was just gonna change into my Survival Clothes that I had in the car and start shoveling, and then we got to the parking lot! Except for the humongous--and I DO mean humongous, piles of snow where it had been plowed, all the cars and roads in the parking lot were DRY! I almost fell over! When I got out onto the two-lane road I took home (for those of you who don't know, DIA is out on the plains, halfway to Kansas!) the road was completely dry--and there were huge 6-8' piles of snow ALL along the road--I couldn't see over the top ANYWHERE! It was like being in a maze where all you could do was to keep going the way you were going! I felt like I was in an hallucination of something! Got back more into the Metro area and, except for the piles along the streets, you could hardly tell there had been a blizzard. I've lived out here since '64, and I KNOW how fast it melts, but even I could hardly believe what I was seeing that time! This IS the place to live! Skybird

Thought it wasn't coming till tomorrow, but temps have dropped here and seeing some flakes within the rain now. Think mine should be good as well - I have irises in bloom or in bud, too. Bleeding Heart and Primrose should be ok, and most everything else is not quite budding yet - glad this weather did come much later! Brought the few potted things I have in for the next couple of nights. Glad I didn't put any seedlings out yet!! Marj