Dealing With the Aftermath

Door to The Back Deck

Yesterday was the longest day I’ve had in a very long time.  I was a little bit in shock about the amount of the snow and what the constant winds had done to the landscape – it really was kind of jarring.  More jarring was the prospect on the driveway under some behemoth snow drifts with a non-functioning snow blower.

Normally I would move one of the cars out of the garage to give me the needed room to work on the snow blower.  Yesterday that was not an option due to the snow in the driveway.  I pulled the manual out and found out that I was going the wrong way in feeding the auger belt through the undercarriage (even though it’s operated that way for the last three years).  As soon as I did that it worked like a dream!!!!

I started out to tackle the driveway shortly after noon when the storm finally gave up the ghost.  I got less than three feet into the drift when I needed to develop some new techniques because the snow was twice as high as the two foot snow blower opening.  I eventually developed a technique where I stopped the snow blower and used a snow shovel to knock down the edge of the snow bank.  I then remounted the snow blower to throw the resulting pile out of the way.  This was slow work and after fifteen minutes my pants were soaked from the blowing snow; this combined with the 16 degree temps made for a chilly afternoon.

I let Buddy out to help for a couple of spells.  He loves the snow and was a little daunted by the depth.  He looked like a squirrel (gasp) or a rabbit as he bounded around the yard.  I looked up from one my snow bank reduction passes and all of a sudden his head poked out from the top of a nearby snow bank.  It was so funny and I had to stop because I was laughing so hard.

I cleared the top of the driveway and started working my way down the hill.  The winds were still fairly awesome so I just had to get the snow up into the air and it was whipped away.  I tried going diagonally so I could back up and knock down the snow banks.  I made it about half way down before it became too steep.  I then headed directly downhill figuring I would get as far as I could and then dig out a passage to the street. I got about twenty feet from the street when I saw the immense snow drift covering the entrance. 

Once I saw the snow drift was over my head in a couple of spots I knew I couldn’t shovel this out in anything less than a couple of hours.  Luckily I have some of the best neighbors in the world.  I went next door and asked him to give me a hand with his snow blower.  We used that to cut a tunnel through and free up my machine.  He stayed much longer than necessary as we slowly reduced the mammoth snow drift.  He then left to help out yet another neighbor – like I said – a truly great human being. 

I was putting the last touches on the driveway when I noticed the auger belt had fallen off again.  I’ve figured out that the newly paved street at the bottom of the driveway created just enough of a slope to be a problem for the low lying auger belt.  I headed back to the garage with a snow blower almost completely frozen.  With the snow still blowing around I know I’ll be back out there again today. 

After I got back inside I noticed it was nearly 4pm, over three hours spent on the project.  My eyebrows were laden with ice and my pants were frozen solid below the knee.  When you’ve been as cold as I was for as long as I was it really drains you.  I felt absolutely exhausted as I quickly jumped into a hot shower.  It took more than three hours before I felt a semblance of warmth again.  I felt like a real wimp, I always thought I was tougher than this.  I even went to bed three hours earlier than normal – truly a long day.

I did receive a report from Panama along with a couple of pictures.  AS tough as today was I was cheered to know that some of the people I love most in the world spent the day on the beach.  Although it seems my wife did figure out how to fit some shopping in – some things transcend boundaries.

Buddy Burrowing Through the Snow

Emerging from the Snow

View from the Front Door

The Job Awaiting Me

Buddy Emerging from the Snow 2

Air Conditioning Machines Snowed Under

Snow Blower Repair Shop - Mirror to See if Blades Are Turning

Some of the Drifting Snow

Buddy Inspecting My Work

My Snow Blower Trapped Against the Huge Drift

My Favorite Guy in the World Yesterday - My Fantastic Neighbor
Helping Me Free my Machine

Job Complete

Frozen Pants

One Last Pass for Buddy

My Wife Shoe Shopping in Panama

Slightly Off Focus Son and MEG in Panama