Arrival of the Snow

Yeah, this is kind of me. I’ll start in one place and get bored and then move to the other side of the driveway just because. Going down the driveway, I’ll sometimes do zig zag patterns and then come back and clean up what I didn’t get the first time. Got to do something to make it interesting so you can try to forget how much fun you aren’t having.

The weight of the snow is directly related to the amount of water which is typically related to the temperature when the snow started falling. And the amount of water is inversely related to how easy it is to move the snow. So light fluffy snow that can be blown away with the leaf blower is easier than the heavy wet stuff.

But my ability to remain outside without experiencing frostbite is inversely related to the temperature. While the fluffy stuff is easier to clean, it generally only occurs here when the temperatures are super cold which limits your ability to remain outdoors and may end up taking longer to clear. The heavy wet stuff is harder work but easier to power through because you can stay out longer.

The problem with the snow we had on Friday was that we had been above freezing for so long that the driveway was still warm and the first snow that fell on it just melted. It only started piling up as the temperatures dropped but that meant that water underneath the snow froze. Made it no fun to clear. The shovel only took the top layer of snow leaving some nice slick spots behind. Not great when your driveway goes downhill. So it was shovel a bit and then drop salt to melt the ice layer and rinse and repeat.

The good news is that it was sunny after the snowfall so the sun took care of what I missed and now we are supposed to be above freezing for the next week meaning that the snow will soon be gone.

Good thing because we seem to have a few more robins around and they cant find bugs if the ground is covered in snow. Flocks of them descended on the parts of the lawn where the snow melted and a few even tried to figure out the bird feeders. With the ground covered in snow, Saturday was a busy day at the feeders and it has now slacked off a bit as the temperature warms and the snow melts.

It would be nice if we were done with the snow but it is far too early to say that. I suspect the shovel will get at least one last workout before it can be put away for the season.

The fact that it may be good exercise doesn’t make it any more attractive.