Posts Tagged ‘snow’
Snow Day
While the northeast United States makes news for the big wallop of winter they got socked with, we in the Twin Cities area are left with a drippy mess that surprises me for being another winter rainstorm, turning to sloppy wet snow reminiscent of the April storms of my youth. Unfortunately, they are now occurring in February.
We did what you do with April snow… 
Then we snuggled into the exceptional comfort of our log home, where we had a beautiful fire in the fireplace. We turned on the broadcast of the Grammy Awards show, and let Pequenita step all over us in search of attention. Where was Mozyr? He is much more reserved than that. Sometimes, I think it is just to be different than his sister.
Great Present
Yesterday I got a chance to play with the new ‘toy’ I got for Christmas from Cyndie’s parents, …after I successfully accomplished assembling it without any instructions. I am a manual-reading kind of guy, and I must have looked in and around that box, 4 different times, in search of a piece of paper that would define which screws are supposed to go into which holes. Left to my own designs, I came up with a plan that seemed logical to me and didn’t leave any unused parts, and now I have a shovel/plow, with wheels, that I can use when there isn’t enough snowfall to warrant using the tractor.
Therein lies the big challenge: determining how much snow it takes to justify using the tractor. We have been enjoying the beautiful views of light snowfall for a couple days now, but the accumulation has been very slow. After I got started playing with the new hand-plow, it became apparent that there was enough to make it worth getting on the tractor and doing a cleanup, but I was having so much fun with the new shovel that I just kept going with that. Plus, the snow kept sprinkling down throughout, and I’d rather not plow until this snow squall ends and moves out of the area.
Today, I hope to use the tractor to clean the 2/3rds distance of driveway toward the road, which remained to be cleared after I called it quits with the hand-plow yesterday. I made it all the way to the shop/garage, but that was it. I probably would have kept going, because I was having so much fun, but I was running out of daylight. That, and I’m growing self-conscious about the neighbors who seem to be enjoying a bit too much entertainment from observing my every move here. They have admitted to a fascination with my prolonged efforts in our driveway.
I don’t blame them, I expect my trial and error style of learning must look a bit funny. I can’t wait for them to ask about this latest device I am employing to remove snow. It works slick enough that I can brag it up until they want to have one for themselves. It provides great exercise! It is pollution free! There is no expense for fuel! It’s win/win all the way.
Isn’t that a GREAT present?
Wilting Weather
One week ago, our little paradise was being buried in beautiful fresh snow. It was falling so fast, I couldn’t keep up with clearing it. I ended up spending almost the entire day last Monday, plowing and shoveling to get dug out.
Now, it is a foggy, sloppy mess, after yesterday’s rain, and a few days of above freezing temperatures. It’s a shame. It seems like such a waste. There was so much potential in all that snow! I didn’t get a chance to even think about making an igloo. I did have visions of starting a ski trail through the woods, though, but that isn’t likely to happen now.
Maybe winter will return. Or, maybe this is the new reality of the warming climate. We’ll get some snow, but not a full winter’s worth. Of course, my sour grapes perspective may be premature. We’ve not even reached the winter solstice yet! If I frame last week’s snow as just a late autumn event, maybe it doesn’t seem so gloomy.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t fit my childhood memories of the good ol’ days. When it snowed in November or December back then, it was the beginning of a winter’s worth.
The cats don’t seem to mind, either way. They are happy to sit at the window and watch snowflakes falling, or water dripping. It’s all good to them.
.
.
Yesterday, Pequenita got distracted from her project of helping me pull the sheets off the bed.
.
.
.
.
Mozyr paid no attention when his sister flicked the toy down to him on the floor.
.
.
.
.
Harsh Lesson
Well, that was a fine ‘how-do-you-do?’. My first lesson in plowing the driveway with the tractor was a real trial by fire. It just kept snowing and snowing all day long without a break, and I got my butt whipped. The storm chased me back into the garage where I parked the tractor and threw in the towel. We received over a foot of snow. I don’t know the storm total yet, because I am writing this on Sunday evening and it still hasn’t stopped snowing.
Now, I am able to report that there were some successes to claim, buried in the frustration I was experiencing. I was quickly successful getting the blade attached to the 3-point hitch on the back of the tractor. The tractor started easily on the first try. I had already topped off the fuel supply the last time I used the tractor. I pushed some snow with the loader up front. I quickly discovered that I would need chains. I then succeeded in figuring out the exercise of getting them installed. Not bad on that part, for having no clue about the logistics of the process. I made it all the way to the end of the driveway and back again. I avoided getting permanently stuck.
That’s about where the successes end. Remaining for me to learn are: What the ideal balance of power and speed is. Related to that is, figuring out what RPM the engine should be running at. I need to look into something to keep snow from sticking to the loader and blade. I need to figure out how best to scoop up a pile of snow with the loader. I need to discover the trick to dumping snow out of the bucket, without it landing back on the area I am trying to plow. I need to figure out when to pick up the blade just enough to keep going and skim the top so I don’t get stuck with too much snow on the blade. I need to learn the trick to getting up the steeper parts of the driveway. That is where I got temporarily stuck multiple times, and why I ultimately gave up and went in.
I am most proud that I was able to prevent the situation from getting totally out of hand. I avoided getting the tractor permanently stuck. Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out what to do differently to avoid that bad spot in the driveway. The driveway is pretty narrow, and the edge of the pavement was not visible. When things would start to go wrong, the tractor would slide sideways and put me over to the edge of the paved area.
Monday will be round two of the battle. I am hoping the snow will have stopped falling, and the colder temperatures will give me a firmer base. If I still can’t figure out how to get the job done, the next plan is to seek the services of a professional, …at least for now.
I’ll be looking forward to getting a chance to practice again on a snowfall amount that’s not quite so harsh. Say, maybe 3 or 4 inches MAX! And it wouldn’t hurt if it would be the driest, fluffiest snow possible. A guy can hope.
Got Snow?
It finally fell. Snowflakes are still falling this morning, and Mozyr is engrossed in all the new views out our windows. The increasing accumulation presents many learning opportunities for me. I am learning where the snow collects in the corners where our roof lines meet. I am learning where ice develops as dripping ensues. And, I will soon learn whether I need to put chains on the tractor yet, or not.
In a twist of timing fate, I am alone for these lessons this week, as Cyndie happens to be in Arizona, continuing with her apprenticeship training with horses. On the good side, there will be no one to witness my foibles as I experiment with clearing snow with the back-blade on our tractor. I can tell her it worked perfect, first try. Yeah. Sure.
Keeping Cool
Here is another blast of photo-coolerization, compliments of Relative Something photo archives…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. .
.
.
Happy middle of July!
.
Helpless Feeling
Waiting, powerless, for nature to take its course and drape our trees with heavy burdens of ice and then snow, is a real exercise, but not one that is very rewarding. I am always fascinated with dramatic weather events, but when a storm involves the slow stress of accumulating ice on otherwise innocent tree branches, my fascination becomes tumbled with a bit of anxiety. Presently, this region is beset with an ugly, grumbling winter storm. Trees are drooping big time.
What can I do? I binged on a few extra Girl Scout cookies last night that were left as gifts by guests of our weekend event. It doesn’t quite solve the helpless feeling, but it massages the pleasure centers of taste and texture, providing a temporary distraction. (All those good intentions of last week, where I walked and exercised every day, diminished, by a moment of weakness.)
We have lived in the house on this lot for about 25 years. Just 3 days ago, Cyndie and I met with a realtor to begin the process of selling this home, and buying a horse farm. It would be a shame to lose trees any time, but right now would be very unfortunate timing. I won’t be available to clean up downed timber. I am tasked with removing wallpaper.
What is the deal with wallpaper? When it was installed during our remodel, it was the crowning achievement. It finished the rooms beautifully. All the comments we received were positive.
Now that it is time to sell, wallpaper has got to go. Out with it before somebody sees it!
What changed?
Why do people even bother putting wallpaper up if they are going to have to take it back down again, and it is such a pain to remove? I don’t understand “decorating.”
Drooping tree limbs. Wallpaper that has fallen out of favor. They both give me a helpless feeling.
No Respect
In regions where winter means shoveling snow, there are some unwritten rules that are almost sacred. Granted, I can be a little particular about clearing my driveway and the shovels I choose, but I am certainly not the only one that tries to shovel the snow off the driveway before any car tires pack down tracks.
We received our first truly shovel-worthy snowfall of the season Saturday. I first noticed it late in the day, when I went out to get the mail. At that time, it had already covered everything with enough depth that I knew I would need to shovel. With that in mind, being such a big fan of shoveling virgin snow off the driveway, I purposefully chose to walk a path to the mailbox that followed the very edge of the pavement.
Later, on my way to bed for the night, I peeked out the front door to check on the amount accumulating and discovered my driveway had been violated! Someone had the nerve to pull into my yet-to-be-shoveled driveway in order to turn around. Who would do such a thing!?
On Sunday, as I was clearing the snow from the drive, I decided to imagine the possibility that it was someone in a dire emergency, maybe even a police car, that needed to make that maneuver, in which case, I would be more than happy to suffer the inconvenience.
I had a chance to practice that mental exercise over and over, as the blade of the shovel repeatedly got stuck on the tracks with each pass I struggled to make.
Winter Prevention
I’m playing hooky from the day-job today to stay home and supervise contractors doing work on our home. Regular readers will likely recall the posts I wrote last winter describing my rooftop adventures dealing with ice dams and gargantuan AC compressor smashing icicles. Today’s project is an effort to eliminate those winter hazards.
We ordered a home energy audit and discovered multiple issues that were contributing to the extent of snow melt on our roof last year. I have long suspected we had sub-par insulation, but I learned that I was oblivious to how many air leaks there were. Today, the leaks will be sealed and additional vents will be added to the roof and then a new dose of insulation applied to bring us up to an R50 level of thermal resistance.
Here’s hoping I get to stay off of my roof through the entire winter this year. Of course, there is always the possibility that by having this work done, I will have altered the balance of the universe and there will be no snow in Minnesota as a result. Plus, with Cyndie’s move to Boston, she will probably cause it to snow more there.
It already started with a freak early season snow storm out east while it was nice here. I’m just sayin’.
Relative Something 