The Lewiston-Auburn area received 4 feet of snow in one week, according to the National Weather Service. And that’s a conservative number. Your backyard may have more.

A Jan. 27 blizzard left 27 inches, but that measurement was at 6 p.m. that day, before the storm ended.

Jan. 30-31: 10 inches.

Feb. 10: 10 inches.

That much snow is unusual, said professional ski race timer Tom Kendall of Auburn, who said he has a “fondness for winter and all of its splendor.”

When Kendall, 64, was a boy, snowdrifts of 8 feet were common. The past week is “a wonderful reminder of blizzards of my childhood when I did jump off cliffs into snow that was 5 to 8 feet deep at the base of a 20-foot leap.”

Kendall recalled winters when his children jumped from the house roof into deep, deep snow. “I have video evidence to support that,” he said. Storms in the 1950s and ’60s often left 2 or 3 feet at a time. “Snowbanks along the road soared over the roofs of cars and trucks.”

Of course back then, vehicles had antennas with orange balls, making them easier to see.

Monday’s storm dropped light, fluffy snow that used to be common, Kendall said. More recent snowstorms often end with rain, making the snow heavy and dense. With light, fluffy snow, “the wind sculpts the white landscape in wonderful ways, if we take the time to observe the power and beauty of her work,” Kendall said.

Lots of snow offers more opportunity for skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing or just playing outside with children and dogs.

“A childhood is enhanced by living in Maine and experiencing Mother Nature’s gift of snow aplenty,” Kendall said.