Friday, February 14, 2014

Still Winter - on Valentine's Day

This is being written much earlier than usual because I am afraid I will be rather tired by tonight.  Nothing unusual; you are all probably feeling the same way after shoveling today.  We are lucky to have someone plow for us who was able to come relatively early so when I got up the driveway looked very good.

But the front walk doesn't get plowed so I decided to shovel before showering (smart move, I thought!) and bundled up.  We have those wonderful push shovels which work very well - if the snow isn't too deep to push.  You're right; it was too deep to push!  So, remembering to use my knees, I shoveled the snow layer by layer and got the walkway done.  


Front walk cleared but not the Bonsai Stand!
Then I looked at the driveway.  It was clear, but to a member of the "Black Driveway Club", clear is not good enough.  I traded in my lifting shovel for a push model and got to work taking off that last layer before it turns to ice.  You see, our driveway is a slope, not really quite a hill but sloped enough that ice makes it treacherous and difficult to navigate for both human and automobile.  It took a while, but thanks to the right shovel, it was relatively easy to do.
Snow blowing off the White Pines
Back inside, I took care of the chores that needed to be done.  I was upstairs in my studio when I looked outside again and saw that the town snow plow had come through and had left just enough at the base of the driveway to make life miserable if it should freeze there.  Out I went again, and this time it wasn't much fun.  By now the snow was very wet so that even pushing it was hard to do.  I did get it all done, did some more work on the little patches the sun hadn't melted from our driveway, and returned to the warmth of the house.

Front yard birdhouse


This "cone" of snow made me laugh.

Another snowy birdhouse in the back yard.
I admit I took some Tylenol when I got inside thinking it would stave off achey muscles and keep them from tightening up.  So far it's working!


2 comments:

  1. I'm sure you yard, in person, is very active and beautiful. I've been watching the birds outside my sewing room window. I'll have to get a book to learn exactly what kind of bird they are. But they sit on the hydrangea bushes and then go to the feeder and back. Poor things out in the snow. I hope they have a great home in a fur tree next door!

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  2. I don't shovel any more at all, but do watch Dave and give cautionary warnings that amount to nothing. However, when I garden and am concerned about aches and pains, I do an epsom salt bath coupled with some ibuprofen. It really does wonders.

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