Snow, Snow And More Snow!

Backyard

Winter is definitely hard. Always has been and always will be unless we move to a town or city. Shoveling snow  is not easy work. Sometimes it is light and will just brush away. Other times, as it has been lately, heavy. Sometimes it is even heavier. When it comes down and is very heavy, it is usually almost water. So when you do all that shoveling, and clearing snow off your vehicles and the roof of your buildings, and it keeps snowing,.............you have to keep shoveling over and over. Not fun. Then it begins to get on your nerves.

The Drive Way

My father and my father-in-law both have snowblowers. They always ask why we don't have one. Well, they seem to need a lot of work. Seems like my father is always working on his. My father-in-law usually takes his somewhere to be repaired. My husband has such a huge dislike for gasoline motors that I know he would never even consider buying one. He says they are more trouble than they are worth. I suppose what would be better for us would be a snowplow on the front of the truck. But I don't think I'd feel comfortable driving it with that thing on the front. It's bad enough that I have to drive a truck all the time, let alone having a plow on the front of it. So for now, my husband shovels. He doesn't like it. He complains. But he always does it.

Today at my father's I saw how spoiled I am by having my paths shoveled down to the very bottom. My father had some surgery last week on his leg so he was not able to get to his path. He was also working on a part to his snowblower on the kitchen table when I came in. So that explained why there was no path to his door from the garage. The path to the road was barely scraped out and a little hard to walk on.

Sunshine On The Barn Roof

At my house though, my paths are cleared out and I can follow one out to the mailbox. One to the barn. One to the driveway. One to the satellite to clear the snow off it. Nikita even has little pit stops along the paths that have been cleared so she doesn't have to use the paths! She learned quick!

Looking at those huge snow piles, you will see why our well is replenished year after year. Not only snow, but we get more than our share of rain and have never really been in a drought. We are used to getting lots of snow here in NY, so even though I complain and whine about it a little............don't take it too seriously! It's a way of life here and I expect it. If I didn't prepare enough, well that is my fault.

Front Yard & Drive Way

Not only is shoveling a big job, but there is ice removal. Ice builds up on our roof. Before our barn was finished and the roof on it, we had tarps over the top. That meant that every time it snowed my husband had to clear the tarp before it caved in. Once we got the roof on that job was eliminated. The ice builds up on our house roof though. Since it is not insulated very well at this time, the snow melts off the roof and slides down. But sometimes before it slides off, the early evening temperature changes which causes it to freeze instead of sliding the rest of the way off. Then if it snows more it will keep building up. If it gets too heavy it can cause the roof to collapse.

Driving on the roads is no piece of cake. If I can stay home I do. I have driven though many many storms and had my share of scary moments. One being last week when I drove my son home. So the key is to prepare for winter, prepare some more and then prepare extra for severe storms. In our state, just because a storm is coming doesn't mean everyone runs to the store to stock up. Normally, they already are. We expect snow, ice and cold temperatures here in upstate NY. It is just a way of life in winter.

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2011  Kathleen G. Lupole