Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie

Long-time readers will know I spent a good amount of time last winter complaining waxing poetic about the amount of snowfall Syracuse receives, which is significantly more than Buffalo's, despite the national perception of Buffalo as being only a tiny bit less wintry than, say, St. Petersburg, Russia. And Syracuse's snowfall is exceeded by a town called Oswego, which is right on the shores of Lake Ontario and perfectly situated to receive the brunt of the lake-effect snowstorms.

How much snow did Oswego get last year? Well, one of the things that will be familiar to people living in areas of heavy snowfall will be the gigantic piles that accumulate in fields, empty lots, and abandoned parking lots where the snow from the roads is dumped after being removed from the streets. These snowpiles, owing to their impressive size, can last long past the actual end of winter, into April...into May...

...or, if the winter dealt enough snow, past the summer solstice.

Wow.