Snow Fun To Be Snowed In: Part 1

We have been snowed in here before.  Last night when we went to bed we felt we were as ready as we would ever be and slept soundly in our warm cozy home.    We awoke to the sight  of white snow everywhere   The kitchen door would open only a few inches and then it was stuck.  The snow was a lot like a layer cake.  Fluffy white snow was the bottom layer.  Next came a hard crusty layer formed during the night when the snow changed to rain and sleet.  More light fluffy snow topped things off.  This was my place to start.

After breakfast Ed suited up and began to shovel his way out of the basement.  I took this picture with just my arm and the camera outside the kitchen door since that is all I could fit through the small opening.  I would be the first to admit that all that snow was a little daunting, but  Ed was determined to get to his snow equipment from the shed, and I was determined to get the kitchen door open.  At first I worked from inside digging at the base of the door with Mithren's kitty litter scoop. Then I could squeeze outside with a shovel. I found I had to break the crusty layer into pieces with the shovel.  I could lift the light snow, but the pieces of ice were heavy and I soon discovered it was easier and more fun to wing them over the railing like a Frisbee.

By the time Ed decided it was time to come inside to warm up I had barely cleared enough space to open the kitchen door and stand outside.  It was a start!

Our snow removal machines were never intended to be used on our terrain.  A level asphalt driveway would be perfect for our machines housed just inside of a garage door if the accumulated snowfall was limited.  The plow can push little more than one inch deep snow to the side.  More than that stays in front of the lawn tractor forming a growing ripple that extends for an amazing distance.  The blower always sends its rear wheels downhill into deep snow.  It becomes hopelessly stuck in the blink of a eye.

For this storm the first passes with the blower were made straight uphill moving out of the shed.  A careful move back into the shed was followed by another run up the hill.  In time enough snow had been cleared to begin moving across the slope towards the driveway.  Each short pass had to end with the rear wheels still on cleared ground.

Cleared ground is not an accurate description of what the blower leaves behind.  To avoid spending much of my time replacing broken shear pins because of my gravel road, high heeled skids were made to raise the scraper bar about one inch above the road surface.  The weight of the machine packs this snow left behind into a firm mass.  Spinning wheels quickly grind this snow into a wheel blocking raised mass.

The plow was needed to scrape the ground clean after the blower had done its work.  A good deal of shoveling was needed to free the plow for its short run onto the semi-cleared ground.

By making several short applications of each machines capabilities, a sizable patch of ground was cleared.  An obvious question of why presents itself.  Our propane truck driver is accustomed to finding enough clear ground to turn his truck around.  It is possible to back that truck up a nearly one quarter of a mile long driveway with an S curve and another curve but that is not the way we do it.  Besides it is an amazing sight to see that blower toss clear the piles that the plow leaves.

Ed had determined prior to the storm that his machines would be strictly limited to working the nearly level ground at the top of the hill.  Late in the afternoon the plow truck appeared and quickly finished the job that kept Ed busy for hours.
                                                                                           

By this time I had finally cleared the deck.  Now the job of clearing the car and the truck needed attention.  I shoveled far enough to get the driver's side door on the Subaru open.  Ed backed the car out with his visibility limited to the driver's side window.  It had been steadily getting colder and so were we.  To be continued...

A Snow Day To Remember!

I thought it would be nice to look back on this storm and remember how it really was.  I'll start with the view I enjoyed yesterday with my morning coffee.  Don't bother cleaning your glasses, it won't help!  Wind driven snow stuck to the window and melted some.  Then the dribbles froze.

Snow had been pasted against all of the windows overnight.  Some of Ed's wire cages looked like they were full of snow, but the snow just stuck to the wires and filled up the holes.

Mid morning, this was the view out the basement door before Ed ventured out to clear some of the sticky, heavy snow.  It was still snowing enough to obliterate the ridge in the distance. 

The kitchen door opens out and the snow was piling up.  Once Ed got out of the basement this was the next job to be done.  The pictures that I took of Ed shoveling snow off the ramp reminded me of one of those flip books we used to love as a kid. 

The snow was so sticky it left his scoop in one big piece. 

That was a lot bigger than a snowball. It must have landed with a thud.  Ed repeated this process many times, coming inside often to warm up, rest or have something to eat.  I spent a little time using these three pictures to move the snow forward and then backwards with my mouse when I was writing this.  It was fun!  My Dad always used to say "It is a pleasure to watch Ed work."  It has always made him happy to be outside working primarily with hand tools!

Finally he had moved the snow necessary to free his snowblower from the shed.  It was clear that this snow was not going to blow away easily.  We gave up on the idea of getting down to the road.  There was no mail, no garbage pickup and no place to go anyway.

Usually Ed plows during the storm since his machines cannot handle deep snow.  This storm had begun with rain then changed over to snow.  That made the bottom layer both wet and heavy.  His blower would have pushed up on top of the wet layer packing it firmly.  The inevitable wheel spin on that thick layer would have resulted in a stuck tractor.  He displayed uncharacteristic wisdom and only worked near the house where the ground is nearly level.  A short pass into the snow was followed by backing up and moving over for another short run.  That way the drive wheels were always next to an open area.  There was a great deal of back and forth but the tractor never became stuck.

By evening the ridge was back in sight.  Last night the lights only blinked a couple of times and we were warm and cozy snowed in here together!  Today the man with the  big plow answered our call.  Despite the quality machine and his skill in operating it, a great deal of soft gravel was removed from the surface of the lane.   Ed's little plow would have made an even bigger mess.  But now the driveway is open, the cars are uncovered  and we are back to normal for March 3 in Upstate New York!