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Another shovel session
Dec. 22nd, 2008 09:25 am6:30 to 7:10 this morning spent hacking through the drifts, again. This batch was quite dense; I think the crystals had blown around enough to break and they packed into very solid chunks. I had to actually axe down on it from above and break off chunks to pick up and throw. That's unusual when it's this cold, that normally happens when it's near freezing so the stuff can partly melt and refreeze.
It isn't a pretty shovel job, because I really couldn't see very well in the dark.
I think it would have been somewhat worse with a blower. I never had any luck getting our blower to bite into stuff like that. A "power shovel" wouldn't have touched it at all.
I looked for an aluminum shovel this morning; I'm a little nervous using the plastic shovel in subzero weather.
While I was out there a car was going west, and another turned into the road at the west end. The westbound car pulled to the right, and I said "He's stuck." Sure enough, a minute later I heard a weird noise and looked up to see the moron spinning his tires at about 60 MPH. Sheesh, I used to make fun of the Chinese students in Houghton trying to get up hills by flooring it, who were just turning snow (that you could actually get a grip on) into ice by friction.
He did get out, slowly, leaving a huge cloud of steam behind him. When I finally left an hour later I could see where he wedged into the snowbank, and the glare ice that he left behind him.
Maybe this guy is a transplant from Tennessee or something, but in reality I'll probably have to let loose a little on the idea that people who grew up in Michigan don't drive that stupid.
[EDIT] It occurs to me that this is exactly the kind of driver that will go out and buy a 4WD vehicle. Because, you know, it's either that or actually learn how to drive. End result, they get stuck 1/2 as often, but 10 times worse when they do.
I would have gotten to work a lot faster on the bike, except that I couldn't leave the rest of the house unable to get out, so I'd have had to shovel anyway.
It isn't a pretty shovel job, because I really couldn't see very well in the dark.
I think it would have been somewhat worse with a blower. I never had any luck getting our blower to bite into stuff like that. A "power shovel" wouldn't have touched it at all.
I looked for an aluminum shovel this morning; I'm a little nervous using the plastic shovel in subzero weather.
While I was out there a car was going west, and another turned into the road at the west end. The westbound car pulled to the right, and I said "He's stuck." Sure enough, a minute later I heard a weird noise and looked up to see the moron spinning his tires at about 60 MPH. Sheesh, I used to make fun of the Chinese students in Houghton trying to get up hills by flooring it, who were just turning snow (that you could actually get a grip on) into ice by friction.
He did get out, slowly, leaving a huge cloud of steam behind him. When I finally left an hour later I could see where he wedged into the snowbank, and the glare ice that he left behind him.
Maybe this guy is a transplant from Tennessee or something, but in reality I'll probably have to let loose a little on the idea that people who grew up in Michigan don't drive that stupid.
[EDIT] It occurs to me that this is exactly the kind of driver that will go out and buy a 4WD vehicle. Because, you know, it's either that or actually learn how to drive. End result, they get stuck 1/2 as often, but 10 times worse when they do.
I would have gotten to work a lot faster on the bike, except that I couldn't leave the rest of the house unable to get out, so I'd have had to shovel anyway.
