2025, Family, home, Poems, Uncategorized, Weather

Hiawatha’s Snowblower

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We had about 8 inches of snow last week. Husband was prepared, and had even gone so far as to buy a pair of Carhartt overalls to have ready when he had to clear the snow. He decided he would only wear the overalls with his biggest snow boots and thickest socks while he operated the snowblower. For all the other outdoor tasks like filling the bird feeders, shoveling the deck, and walking the dog he would wear warm pants and his hiking boots with thinner but warm socks. The Carhartt’s are rather voluminous and don’t allow for as much freedom of movement required for the non-snowblower tasks. It was clear in his mind he would do the latter tasks first, and finish up with the snowblower and his change of outerwear. The Carhartt’s were too long to wear with anything but his snow boots. The thick socks were too thick for the hiking boots, so they required thinner socks.

Husband got somewhat disorganized, and thought he had finished all the pre-snowblowing tasks and had changed into the warm clothes only to find that the batteries for the snowblower weren’t fully charged, so he methodically changed back into the less warm clothes, boots, and socks. The socks are a big issue, as Husband really struggles to put on his socks due to carpal tunnel and arthritis in both his hands. Once the tasks were done and the batteries charged he again changed into his snowblower uniform. He did a really nice job outside, but it sure took him a long time.

Perhaps it is because we are now in Minnesota, or that we live just south of Pipestone (home of the now defunct Song of Hiawatha pageant), as I watched Husband change in and out of his outdoor work costumes and get ready for the tasks at hand, I was reminded of Lewis Carroll’s parody on The Song of Hiawatha, called Hiawatha’s Photographing. The poem uses the same laborious cadence as the original poem. It describes a 19th century man trying to take family photos. It is really funny. It is readily available on-line. As you read it, imagine a similar parody about getting ready to clear snow.

What are some of your favorite parodies? How do you clear your snow? Any thoughts about Longfellow?

39 thoughts on “Hiawatha’s Snowblower”

  1. YA has been in charge of the snow here this week as I am still battling through the end of the bronchitis. We had about an inch of snow last week and then 4 inches more so over the weekend. She’s been going out in dribs and drabs and shoveling. I know she likes to use the snowblower, but she says she doesn’t know how to turn it on. I said I can show you. She said well maybe later.

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      1. We inherited our snowblower from neighbors moved away a couple of years ago. It’s an electric start, but there’s about six or seven steps and YAS daunted by those, even though I have them written down on a big piece of cardboard in the garage.

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  2. I have a small collection of Hiawatha parodies. Longfellow’s trochaic tetrameter was seemingly irresistible. Hiawatha photographing was written by Lewis Carroll, who was himself a photographer and could accurately and cleverly describe the process.

    Another parody, The Song of Milkanwatha, translated from the original Feejee includes this memorable passage:

    He killed the noble Mudjokivis.
    Of the skin he made him mittens,
    Made them with the fur side inside,
    Made them with the skin side outside.
    He, to get the warm side inside,
    Put the inside skin side outside.
    He, to get the cold side outside,
    Put the warm side fur side inside.
    That’s why he put the fur side inside,
    Why he put the skin side outside,
    Why he turned them inside outside.

    Humorist Mortimer Thomson, who wrote using the pseudonym Doesticks wrote a history of the United States, Plu-ri-bus-tah in Hiawatha meter.

    I clear our sidewalks and driveway by shoveling unless it’s a particularly deep snowfall. I don’t have a special outfit. If the snow is especially heavy and I have to get out my ancient snowblower, I clear the sidewalk along the whole block.

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  3. I do love parodies, and hope to think of some today.

    I make sure to wear a hooded coat to shovel, esp. if it’s windy. Luckily, some neighbors sometimes plow main sidewalk, and occasionally someone does our driveway – he has a blade on a pick-up, and is from the next block, but his son lives right across the alley, so he clears our end of the alley after a big snow. (Winona, unlike Mpls., doesn’t plow its alleys.)

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  4. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Parodies: Carol Burnett’s “Went with the Breeze” (Gone With the Wind) has to be my all time favorite. When she appears at the top of the stairs with the curtain rod over her shoulders, I lose it every time, even though I know it is coming. Saturday Night Live also has done some brilliant parody work over the course of 50 years.

    Snowblowing: our snowblower is broken, although I hired a snow removal service for the winter, so the snowblower is just a back up device at this point. There is a small engine repair service which will come to your driveway to repair a lawn mower or snowblower inside their truck. This small business knows its customers’ needs. I think it is brilliant. However, our appointment is not until January because they are so in demand. I clear the sidewalk and front patio myself as needed.

    My dad’s interpretation of Longfellow:

    After anyone made an unintentional rhyme near dad, this is what he said next. I do not claim sophistication with this one!

    You are a poet
    You did not know it.
    Your feet are Longfellows

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  5. I believe Longfellow got that meter from a Finnish poem. He was in his day very successful. Good on him. Despite living on the shores of Gitchi Gummi and having occasionally dined at the club of that name in Duluth, I find the poem very irritating.
    I don’t even own a snow shovel. Have not owned one for 16 years.
    Floaters age covering my vision today. And two meds are leaving my eyes sort of blurry.
    Clyde

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    1. The Kalevala, right? I remember hearing that.

      Living in Longfellow and near Minnehaha Park, we are surrounded by Longfellowiana. I would guess it was the fantasy of real estate developers. Longfellow’s own geography is a bewildering pastiche.

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        2. I give myself credit for having gotten through it once. I don’t intend to do it again.

          Quite a few years ago, an enterprising Finnish/American friend had a quantity of wall calendars printed up with exquisite artwork depicting scenes from the Kalevala. They were truly beautiful. I don’t know how many she managed to sell or give away, but I’m pretty sure she had quite a few left over. Wonder what she did with them? I should try to find out, not that I’d have any idea of what to do with them now.

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        3. I have that Ruth McKenzie CD of Kalevala. I was looking it up recently in regard to something someone had said on the blog. No idea what that had to do with anything anymore.

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      1. I think because of the Pipestone Quarry, which the Native peoples all over the country for centuries would come for the stone with which they made their ceremonial pipes.

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  7. I remember really enjoying Weird Al Yankovick. But not so much anymore for whatever reason.

    Moving snow. Sunday I was using the rear blade to clear the 6-8″ of snow we got. The ground isn’t frozen yet and I ripped up a lot of sod, and dirt. Sounds like next springs problem.

    It takes a while.

    Being the tool snob that I am, and having this new concrete around the shed, I bought myself two new snow shovels today. One scoop, and one pusher. And I like good tools. Which means I bought the ‘Snow Plow’ brand shovels. Yellow Handles. Good stuff. I’ll be almost happy to move snow.

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  8. Reading “Evangeline” used to be standard reading in 9th or tenth grade. I think ninth. The history lesson was good. How the Cajuns came to be. I liked it as poetry, too. I should go back and read it.
    Clyde

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  9. One of my favorite snowblowing cartoons:
    https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=JlUuPZON&id=2239606D2F5D3F757343AA53F1FBDC66BE0DAE15&thid=OIP.JlUuPZONAACYQ54bvXMFHAHaGM&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.pinimg.com%2foriginals%2f51%2fdf%2f41%2f51df410600933b7edcab6e6064ede5bc.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.26552e3d938d000098439e1bbd73051c%3frik%3dFa4Nvmbc%252b%252fFTqg%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=402&expw=480&q=snowblowing+cartoon+fb&FORM=IRPRST&ck=AB0C80B60FDB6C08FF5117F22CDE33FF&selectedIndex=8&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

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  10. Renee, I admire how well prepared your husband is for the weather. I’m not so organized. We live in an area with townhouses and the HOA arranges for snow clearing, though Husband will still go out with a shovel to clear the deck and places that the shovelers missed.

    I love parodies and can recall several favorites. As we discussed recently, Young Frankenstein is a masterpiece of parody, along with several other Mel Brooks films. I also like Galaxy Quest, a parody of sci-fi shows, Star Trek in particular.

    There’s an obscure British TV show called Posh Nosh, which is a hilarious spoof of cooking shows.

    The British author Terry Pratchett wrote a whole series of books that parodied fantasy novels, science fiction, and other topics. Another favorite book is The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman (another Brit) that parodies heroic accounts of mountaineering expeditions.

    Longfellow is good for getting a child interested in poetry. I read Hiawatha and some of his short poems when I was a kid.

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