2022, Family, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

The Weather Outside….

44 Comments

Yesterday while it was still snowing, my neighbor to the north got his snowblower out and worked on his driveway.   A couple of hours later YA headed out with a shovel to do the steps and back sidewalk.  Across the street my neighbors were struggling to get their snowblower going.  One neighbor to the south was out doing her steps as well.

Me?  I’m sitting inside in sweatpants and fat socks, watching tv and sipping my beverage.  For some reason I have always been and “wait until it’s over” kind of person.  I would rather do 8” once than 4” twice. 

And this works out rather well for me most of the time.  For example, as I type this, my other neighbor to the south is currently doing OUR driveway (for which he will be rewarded generously with homemade cookies).  My neighbor to the north did our front sidewalk when he was out (cookies for him as well).  So by the time this ends and I finally venture out, I’ll have less to deal with!

How do you like to deal with winter’s excess?

44 thoughts on “The Weather Outside….”

  1. You’re a smart cookie *wink 🙂 We’re in the Houston area so compared to you all, we don’t have as much to deal with or worry about in the winter. Although, we did have a very cold snap for about 4 days at Christmas. Trying to keep the pipes from freezing was the main issue. We now have several gear lamps and insulation wrap. We expect one or 2 more of these as Jan/Feb can throw some really cold fronts. We’ll see. The weather patterns seem to really have changed up in the last 2-3 years. Anything seems possible at this point! Stay warm!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  3. I shoveled yesterday afternoon when it appeared the snow had stopped. New snow overnight has undone my efforts. Perversely, I kind of like shoveling.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. Our street is reduced to 1.5 lanes because of the width of the snow piles along the curb. The city plows only do the minimum here. It is very frustrating.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. We had an early April blizzard once that left about 6 inches of snow in the streets. As a money saving move, the City didn’t send out the plows because ” the snow will melt pretty soon”. We drove on horrible street conditions until May, and it was so full of ruts amd bumps that the suspension on our car was damaged.

          Liked by 2 people

  4. It’s good exercise, so too I kind of like shoveling IF:
    – it’s not too heavy
    – there’s not a bitterly cold wind
    – I’m not in a rush to get somewhere.
    (I want to be careful what I put out to the universe about this…)

    If a lot is predicted and I know I have to get up and out early, I will opt to do a half job at night, knowing I’ll have to do it again in the morning.

    What’s getting to me this winter is so many overcast days, another of winter’s excesses. Looks like there may be some sun by end of the week, at least.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I’m with Barb. Multiple shovelings when practical to get some exercise. Yesterday was like shoveling slush! Worst, heaviest, wettest snow I’ve ever dealt with. Clogged up and stalled my snowblower about 4 times. I was also afraid that if I left it all until the snow ceases tomorrow, the mess on my driveway would solidify into a squishy skating rink.

      In the old days, I didn’t have a choice–no snowblower, so it was my and my shovel. My wife chipped in occasionally. Plus we lived in Carlton, where it was colder and snowier than Owatonna.

      I eschewed snowblowers until about ten years ago, when old age and practicality replaced machoness. 🙂

      Chris in Owatonna

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

      2. First time I read Chris’ comment, I pronounced “machoness” with the emphasis on the second syllable, like in “cojones.” Perhaps because of the prevalence of Latinos in my neck of the woods, it’s part of my very limited Spanish vocabulary. I like it, it has a certain amount of swagger and spunk, dontcha think?

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

        2. I guess I should’ve spelled it “macho-ness.” Although now that I thnk about it, the correct term would’ve been “machismo.” Definiton: strong or aggressive masculine pride

          Chris in O-town

          Like

    2. I will admit that being retired and not having to get snow removel done on a work schedule is quiet freeing. YA had snow day yesterday and today as well, so no rush on that front either!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Yesterday was the first Tuesday in a month that Husband could drive to Bismarck without weather problems. There was fog, but no snow, wind, or blowing snow.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  6. I had this conversation with some friends my first or second winter in a place with snow (and I only got here 4 years ago). I told them that, as a religious person, I relied on the angels to take care of what collected in my driveway and on my walk. Hey, it works for me!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    2. Here in the city, you have 2 days to get your sidewalks cleared. I don’t know anyone who has actually gotten fined for this but I’ve heard that it does occasionally happen.

      Like

      Reply

  7. Rise and Grab a Shovel, Baboons,

    Usually Lou and I bundle up and head outside. He starts the snowblower and clears the driveway and front sidewalk. I clean off the back deck. Why? Snow is heavy and it is an older deck, and we have a protected cement work area under there where we don’t want all that snow to melt. Then one of us sweepsoff the front patio and lay down some ice melt. Finally we shovel off an area where the dog can relieve herself. Yesterday Lou, who loves to use the snowblower, started while I was working, so I just peeked out the front window a bit. He will probably go out there and remove more this afternoon.

    So, I guess we remove it once a day.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  8. One of the joys of renting in the city–no driveway, and the landlady shovels the walk. Somebody on the block has a snowblower and clears the sidewalk in front of several houses, including this one. The fun of winter begins for us when we go get groceries on the bus, and have to haul a heavy wheelie cart over the badly-cleared sidewalks and the deeply rutted heaps at every street corner.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  9. Snow shoveling is no longer in my bailiwick. Years ago, when it was, it was all done by hand by yours truly. During particularly heavy snowfalls, all the neighbors would be out helping each other clearing the snow, and getting cars off the street in preparation for plowing.

    Before dinner last night, Hans used our big snowblower to clear a path around the house, and the sidewalk in front of our house and several neighbors’ as well. This morning it’s obvious that he’ll have to do it all over again. But man, is it beautiful. As I let Bernie out into the back yard this morning, I stood there and marveled at the beauty of it all, truly a winter wonderland.

    I’m wondering if Kelly is up for a job of this magnitude, Ben, or if you have recovered sufficiently to be able to help?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    2. Fortunately, we’ve only got about an inch here. Although it is still snowing lightly. That ‘pretty winter wonderland’ snow. And yeah, we’ve kinda decided I would handle it today. I can get out to the shed, but she’s still doing chicken chores because there’s more hills to worry about doing that.

      Yesterday it was raining so much, we got about an inch of slush on the driveway. Highways and streets in town were fine. Just our road was mushy. So I want to grade that off before it freezes.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. BUT! Kelly did handle the earlier snowfalls and she had some good snows there!
        It does make a pretty good bank on the side of the road, and other years, I would hook up the blower eventually and cut them down. It remains to be seen if we do that this year or not… It will melt eventually…

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  10. I was out this morning for about 2 1/2 hours. I wasn’t going to get out the snowblower at first because the new snow wasn’t that heavy and I had cleared the first batch yesterday afternoon.
    But the young woman next door is pregnant and her husband was exposed to Covid and is isolating elsewhere and she is an intern and worked a night shift last night. She came home as I was shoveling and couldn’t get down the alley to her garage and also couldn’t park in front because of the snow, so I shoveled out a spot for her in front and then got out the snowblower to clear more of the snow around her car. While I had it out, I cleared the public sidewalk up and down our side of the street and our driveway as well as our pregnant neighbor’s driveway in the alley.
    If the alley gets plowed, I’ll have to go back out to shovel away the ridge left by the plow. Minneapolis has declared a snow emergency so I’m going to have to move my car across the street before tomorrow morning. Perhaps more shoveling will be necessary but, with 4wheel drive, I don’t anticipate it.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I don’t spend a lot of time being thankful for my garage but maybe I should. I can pretty much ignore snow emergency declarations with everything tucked away in the garage.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

    1. Bill and Anna, I think you are the closest to me in the Twin Cities, what do you think? If I had to guess, although I’m not the best at this, I’d say about 8 inches total so far?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. Well, it’s hard to gauge how much snow when all I’ve done is sit inside and watch my neighbors remove snow from from my driveway and sidewalk

          Liked by 1 person

  12. 12 is right
    couple more comin
    shovel action here with a small driveway but i’ve been driving so deb and spencer have been getting it
    i am sure to thank them as i go to bed getting home late setting my alarm for wake-up
    this morning i had canceled my deliveries because yesterday was so horrible with 8 inches of unplowed snow most everywhere
    i was out driving in the 1 1/2 or intense snowfall when i couldn’t see in front of me and the wipers couldn’t keep up and needed frequent lift and slam on windshield while driving
    had two awful back road deliveries each 1 mile plus down terrible unplowed roads and made it surprising myself with driving skills acquired over a lifetime of being a damn fool. finished up 30 miles from home but the intensity of downfall was down to a 5 after 1 1/2 hours of 11. now my key focus was avoiding all this stuck around me and not stopping on any inclines made it all the way home and got to my street where i was on the final turn before my driveway and couldn’t get through
    too deep to go forward uphill so neighbor offered to let me park in his driveway
    went to get car to take my mom to chiropractor as the plow went by and released me
    got to chiro ok but parking in minneapolis streets was the challange then on to the tuesday movie chosen because the theater has parking ramp parking
    home at 930 and botching commenced this morning ( i canceled my amazon deliveries) the 6” slush last night wore them down so i helped before i left but across the street neighbor offered son his blower while in morning meetings
    my grandson said
    i like that guy

    i agree

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  15. There are a lot of factors to consider when planning one’s snow removal strategy. If there is a wet layer of snow and it looks like it will freeze if left overnight, I wouldn’t wait. I’d get at that right away. Unless it’s really really cold and it’s time for dinner. But if it’s a mail delivery day, I like to get out and clear a path for the mail carrier. I’m sure they dress warm and have good boots, but it probably gets tiring trudging through unshoveled walks.

    But if I don’t get to it, I have neighbors that come by with the heavy artillary to blast it away.

    Yesterday a driver got stuck in an intersection up the street – based on his accent, maybe an immigrant from an east African country. The van had the logo of a company that provides transit services for schools. The driver, I’m guessing, had little or no experience drving on ice and snow, and was spinning his wheels. A small crew of helpers gathered to push and shout advice. After a great deal of pull it up, back it up, pull it up, back it up, he was able to get moving again.

    Today I took my car for a short drive and a geothermal spa experience. The scenery was mesmerizing.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to billinmpls Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.