A tale of two winters

I was out walking my dog today, and despite the fact that it was still chilly out, one thing really struck me - we’ve had drastically less snow than last year. Here’s a comparison: this is what I saw when I was out walking today...

And heres the same street at the same point in time last year. Literally couldn’t even see over the snow walls.

The poles, for reference, are a touch over 6ft in height. Part of one of rice fields nearby had already started to melt pretty substantially this year, which you can see below.

I’m not too concerned, since my neighbors have said that this does happen from time to time, but I do wonder how local businesses who depend on snow for their livelihood (such as ski resorts) are faring.