Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . .

I don't really mind the snow. It is one of those things we learn to live with in the wintry northeast. A little snowfall here and there is nice. Just enough to coat everything in a beautiful blanket of wintry white. I have a wood stove in the family room with a screen insert so I can enjoy a glass of wine now and then while sitting in front of the fire all toasty and warm while watching the snow gently falling outside. It is just those every so often winter storms with the all at once heavy snowfall I don't care for. We have had 3 or 4 so far (I am not really sure as I have lost count) this winter season and it is not even officially winter yet. I do have a 4 wheel drive SUV so it is not a major problem getting around if I have to. I am just not all that excited about having to clear the driveway and walkway so I can get into and out of the house. I suppose I could just drive over the snow in the driveway but eventually it would get so high if I did not clean it up I would never make it back into the garage again. Besides that if I drive over it again and again it would just leave icy ridges all over and I might not even make it back into the driveway. So if I must clear it out, I must. A little exercise never hurt anyone. Well, maybe a few people, but not everyone.

The latest storm was not as bad as they had predicted. At least not in my immediate area. Surrounding areas had more in some places and some had less. It varies from day to day and storm to storm. It was snowing again when I went out to clean up the last snowfall from the weekend yesterday and it continued to snow most of the day. You may not see it in most of the images as they were reduced somewhat to fit the page and for faster loading. The snowfall was not very heavy, just the nice gentle flurries you would like to watch from inside while sipping a glass of wine by the fire. Which is where I would have rather been. The following photo's are a few images of my 2 to 3 hour wintry workout with a few winter animations added for fun.

The first step was to open the garge door to see what I was in for. It kind of makes you want to go back inside where it is cozy and warm and take a nice nap.

It doesn't look all that bad. The worst part is in the front where the town snow plows packed in all the salted ice and slush.

Time to do a little digging to make room for the snow blower.

I think that is enough of the fun with the shovel. Time to get Mr. snow blower out and clean up the remaining mess.

With the major portion finished it was time to clean up and touch up the remaining spots.

I could just as easily hire some snow plowing service but some of them do more damage to the driveway and lawn and generally leave more of a mess. Besides, I can do a much nicer and more thorough job.

Now, doesn't that look so much more clean and nice. It looks better than the previous cleanup post with all the leaves and junk all over the place.

Another cleanup job well done. Now it is time to go back into the warm and cozy indoors and make some lunch.

That is about it for now until the next big event. I do want to do a little exploring in the next day or so to see if I can find some interesting scenes to photograph around the area.

Until then, have a safe, warm, snuggly and cozy week.

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patchesmom on

Re: Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . .

I would have opened the garage door and started crying

It is pretty though, more so if you don't have to move any of it! Glad to see you got through it with no problems though. Is my eyes or do you not have curb/sidewalk to clear in front of your house ?(other than from the front door to the driveway?)

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Mallman on

Re: Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . .

No sense in crying, although if you shed enough salty tears you might melt some of it.

Sometimes some of the chores are a struggle, but it has to get done.

The sidewalk from the main highway south of me ends at my property line. The town did not feel a need to continue it for some reason through the neighborhood. That is ok by me. Less I have to clear. The thing you see in front of the driveway that runs down both sides of the road is actually a rain gutter. It is supposed to carry the water from storm drain to storm drain. That is under ideal conditions and we all know they don't always exist. The one thing about the rain gutter is the town plows don't generally plow much beyond the edge of it probably in fear of getting too close to the mailboxes and knocking them over. If we have a winter with continuous snow they plow further away each time until we eventually end up with a one lane road. One year they must have had a rookie as he cut in too sharply after the mailboxes and took out the front part of my lawn. Either it was a rookie or someone with a bit too much eggnog. I run my snow blower along the gutter up to the grass line. That way if they stay on the inside of the gutter when they plow, by the time they get to my driveway there is no snow left on the blade and they don't end up filling in my driveway.

Take care and have a nice, warm and relaxing sleep.

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patchesmom on

Re: Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . .

and here I thought being on a corner on the right side of the street we'd have little left by a snow plow! How wrong I was. They don't plow close to our mailbox though! So I have to climb a little snow mountain every day!

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Mallman on

Re: Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . . Let it Snow . .

My one neighbor and I usually clear the snow in front of our mailboxes. If we didn't the mail truck would never be able to get close enough to deliver the mail and by mid winter he would have to hire a Sherpa guide just to deliver it.

The angel looks lovely even sideways. I was checking through my video software to see if I had a program to make it upright. Lovely colors too. I assumed it would be just flowing white with the fiber optics. Cool.