After all the fluff has settled, here's where we're at

 Hm.  For some reason, Blogger's flipping my picture sideways.

As to my scientific methodology: I grabbed my four foot ruler, walked out to the nearest undisturbed spot in the yard (to my front door) and pushed the ruler down into the snow as far as I could.  I didn't sample more spots.

So there.

The computer thermometer tells me it's 14ºF out.  Warming up a bit.

[My character map calls the degree sign a "masculine ordinal indicator."  What the hell?]

I wonder if there's anyone around here taking pictures

like this guy. 

Awesome pictures, man!  The nature pictures, I mean.  The people pictures are fine, too, but they don't blow your doors off like the plants & critters.

Dennis Curtin is his name.

I thought it was good of my camera to take this good of a night picture for me

I thought this one was OK too.

The first one's looking South from my front step, the second one's from about thirty feet closer.  Real photographers like to know details about the equipment, so I'll tell you that it's a Canon PowerShot SX110IS and I turned to knob/dial to SCN, whatever that means.