Sunday Sublimity

What Greeted Me When I Opened the Garage Door

It worked!!!  The recently repaired snow blower worked like a charm yesterday.  This was an exceedingly good thing because when I opened the garage door yesterday morning I was greeted by at least a foot of snow.  The wind was also whipping which sent a lot of the light powder blowing back on the operator.  I could have cared less as I did not have to shovel the driveway again. 

I really enjoy the quiet aftermath of a big snow storm.  Everything looks pristine and sounds are muffled as the world wakes up to deal with the blanket of white imposed over night.

My wife’s Christmas lights were practically submerged.  They stand on 16” stakes so we received a pretty good amount of the white stuff.  Buddy loves the snow and as soon as I let him out in the morning, he headed for the nearby wood line despite my protestations.  I couldn’t curse because the neighbor’s young kids were out playing in the snow. I think Buddy thinks that gives him free rein to ignore me.  He looked genuinely confused when the neighbors finally corralled him and he returned to a less than pleased master. He spent the rest of the morning in his cage.

I spent about an hour and a half mounted on the tractor and the driveway was cleared down to the pavement.  I even did the next door neighbor’s driveway because I was having so much fun.  Buddy’s recent bite victim was out clearing his parking space so I went over with the tractor and helped him a little bit.  I got the tractor stuck a couple times (note to self – lifting the tractor out of a rut by hand is not good for my back). Luckily my wife’s witch doctor remedies seem to work on backs also.

After a run to church and the supermarket I settled in for a Red Zone afternoon as the Patriots had the late game.  Everyone who had to lose to help the Patriots did so in the early games.  It was kind of sadistic of me to enjoy how bad the Jets have become.

The Patriots then took care of business by throttling their Miami rivals who didn’t seem to enjoy the frigid conditions; especially their offensive line.  The defense pitched a shut out due to some fortunate turnovers and the aforementioned o-line.  Brady looked very focused and even Gronk returned. He still looked gimpy and blocked one armed.  The extra two weeks of rest before their first playoff game should help.  This team can be almost scary when they put it all together. 

The wind was ringing all day yesterday and I occasionally glanced out to see all of my work on the driveway being slowly eroded by drifting snow.  This would have bothered me a lot more if the Patriots hadn’t won.

I went out this morning and attacked the drifts (some of them 2.5 feet deep) with the snow blower.  Although it did require some creative use of Pam sprayed into the chute, after a half hour the driveway was clear again.  I’m sure the neighbors appreciated the 6:30 am wakeup call as I seem to be one of the few people at work today. 

At least this seems like a real winter again, as opposed to last year’s poser.  My wife’s Panamanian relatives are due in town on Thursday – some of them have never seen snow before – should be fun.

What I Looked Like After Finishing the Driveway

My Wife's Christmas Lights Peeking Out of Snow

Mission Complete

View out Back

The Return of Gronk - Complete with Touchdown

The Driveway This Morning - Drifts Down at Bottom were Hip Deep

Drifts at Top of Driveway This Morning - Vanquished Shortly Thereafter