First Snowfall

 

 

*Today, November 27, 2023, a Monday that will live in infamy, since this day saw the first substantial snowfall that came to Roscommon, MI. Of course, we have had earlier ‘teaser snowfalls’ [those that my neighbor said delivered merely a skiff of snow – the type that comes one day and departs the next.]

Today’s snowfall was nothing like that. This was an honest-to-God snowfall that toyed with us in the morning and then continued in the afternoon. It was clear that snowblower season had arrived. Unfortunately, I had an early appointment demanding my attention most of the morning. When I arrived home at lunch time, I knew immediately that a snow emergency had arisen. I had fallen prey to a white accumulation and by early afternoon I saw the dreaded tracks that had already shown themselves by dint of the morning motoring over the expansive white, cementing the snow into two clearly discernable tracks on the driveway, never to be removed unless I took immediate and decisive action.

It was time to retrieve my snowblower from the dark recesses of the barn. Unfortunately, by the time I reached this decision the wind was blowing somewhere in the vicinity of 30 to 60 miles an hour. At least, that it what it felt like when I made my way to the barn and wrenched the machine from the darkest corner where I had left it last spring.

*As noted, I began this blog on Monday. It snowed again on Tuesday morning, thus provoking the need for a revision. By Wednesday it was apparent that the entire text needed revision, so I did. See more below.

**Last year’s failure to remove the snow before tracks appeared led to a season long strip of ice on the driveway, never to be removed. Not only was the ice hazardous, it also revealed to my neighbors my ineptitude in dealing with a common nuisance for those of us who live in the north woods.

Today, November 28, 2023, a Tuesday that will live in infamy, since this day saw a sequential two-day snowfall that came to Roscommon, MI. The snow had covered the driveway for a second time overnight. Unfortunately, Tuesday was the day that I was forced to leave home early to attend our regular exercise class in the village. In other words, I was forced to drive on the freshly deposited snow, no doubt creating fresh tracks that would stand out for all the neighbors to see, especially my next-door neighbor who always shoveled his driveway by hand and NEVER, EVER drove his car on fresh snow. His driveway always looked pristine. What I dreaded most was him commenting on my work with the flat bladed shovel. But he did.

“Looks like you’re having a hard time removing the ice, Bill. The best thing to do is don’t drive on fresh snow,” he offered. I muttered an unmentionable reply as he drove off.

I was confident in my ability to remove the snow this year since I now owned a new snowblower, a two--stage humdinger that could throw the snow an easy 20-30 feet distance from the driveway. Unfortunately, I had forgotten one of the details of elementary physics that demanded the snow must be thrown several feet high to allow it to be thrown several feet distant. Normally, this was an inconsequential detail – a common sense speck of knowledge of no particular consequence – unless the wind is blowing at 30 to 60 miles per hour, in which case the airborne snow has an equal probability to circle back and blow directly into the face of the snowblower. That was me. I quickly deduced that I had insufficient clothing and no means of peering through a wall of snow.

I retreated to the house for a better hat, artic type gloves, and a rain-proof outer jacket allowing a make-shift shroud over my face. Thus prepared, I began anew. In ten-minutes I was covered in snow, indistinguishable from the adjacent trees and shrubs which had endured the snowfall far longer than me. Regardless, I completed the plowing job in record time, notwithstanding the two strips of packed snow that stood out like jewelry on a bride’s neck.

I put the snowblower away and broke out the other new tool from last year – a long handed spade-like device with a single eight-inch flat blade designed for removing flattened snow that is rapidly becoming ice. Scraping the concrete to remove the strip was hard work. It took as long as the snow blowing job to remove only a fraction of the square footage of the driveway. I persisted. Finally, the job was finished.

Today, November 29, 2023, a Wednesday that will live in infamy, since this day saw another snowfall, albeit with only a small accumulation. Wednesday’s schedule included a slew of errands in the village, thus creating more tracks and, once again, no time to scrape them. Given the new circumstances, I decided the Monday and Tuesday blog needed a revision. This provoked a complete re-write and the decision to forego all other activities until the driveway was scraped clean. It turned out to be totally unnecessary.

By noon, Wednesday’s temperature increased and passed the freezing point. The new snow and the new ice melted. The driveway looked pristine, my earlier efforts were found to be totally unnecessary. As I finished admiring the driveway and the blog re-write, I decided the whole thing was just one more brick in the wall.

Bill