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i had some morning errands to run on the day before our first significant snowstorm of the winter season. i rode to whole foods to return a jacket my mother had bought for my father, then i went to market basket to get a few things. originally i was going to take the motorcycle but i'm glad i opted for the bicycle instead because the parking lot was full, supermarkets tend to get busy the day before a storm. i came home and brought on the garden hose. not sure why my upstairs neighbors didn't do this, they brought in all the other hoses except for this one. hoses left outside during the winter get damaged from the freezing and lose their pliability. i also brought in my bicycle.

the forecast yesterday said 3-6" of snow; the one this morning increased that amount to 5-8". as far as winter storms we've had a lot worse (measured in feet, not in inches), but it will be inconvenience nonetheless.

after a english muffin sandwich for lunch, i packed up my things and took my motorcycle on one last ride of the season.

i filled up the tank first, before stopping at the cafe to drop off some supplies: christmas ham, rice noodles, napa cabbage, daikon radish. i then poured some star tron enzyme stabilizer into the fuel tank. i used to do it right from the gas station, but attendants get really nervous when they see customers adding things to their fuel tank. just a little, less than an ounce, but the motorcycle needs to be riden for a little bit to mix it properly.

the first snowstorm of the winter is when i put my motorcycle away. i usually like to give it a wash before storing it in the garage, but sometimes it's not possible, especially in the wintertime, with freezing temperatures and whatnot. today wasn't too bad, temperature in the upper 30's. cold, but not freezing. i gave the motorcycle a quick wash. my hands were freezing afterwards, didn't realize just how cold it was.

before i could put the motorcycle away in the garage, i had to clean it first. i also had to put our bamboo stakes into the garage, as well as all the planting containers that'd been sitting out in the backyard. it took me about 2 hours to clean it out, before i rode in the motorcycle. i also put the snowplowers near the entrance in case my father needed to use them tomorrow.

my sister was in the area and could give me a ride back to cambridge around 4pm, so i didn't have to take the bus. while i was waiting for her, i had time to do some backyard tasks, like refill the birdfeeder and move some outdoor potted plants (wisterias, milkweed) onto the plant stand. i also checked the status of the daikon radishes. some of the ones growing unprotected have frost damage. the ones growing under cover are still fine for the most part, but the leaves touching the walls seem to be slightly wilted as well. i wonder how they'll fair tomorrow with the snow, and even more so tuesday, when the daytime temperature will be 12 degrees and 3 degrees at night.

for dinner i ate the other half of my chicken caesar salad. by the evening forecast the snow amount had increased even more, up to 6-9" for the boston area. i'm going to set up the gopro to take a time lapse of the snow. i'm not sure what interval i should set it at, at the very least 5 secs, if not even longer.