Continuing with the Weather Report

Good morning!

So, where was I? Oh, right - a week ago today, I needed to head out to plow so that Tom could get to work.

Well, our new, slick drive-right-into-it plow assembly didn't work quite as expected, and so I had to come in to ask Tom for a hand getting it on. Fast forward two hours through lots of snow down our backs, massive frustration, and a few colorful words . . . and the plow still wasn't on nor did it give any indication of being on anytime in the near future. And, Tom was quite late for work at this point. We DID, however, have a backup in the form of the old plow truck which Tom had SO wisely gotten all ready for winter (including mounting the plow) a few days earlier. (And, really, living in the sticks, you simply MUST have backups and Plan Bs all ready to go at a moment's notice!) So, we finally gave up on the new plow until a better time, and I headed out with the old (but trusty, thank goodness) plow truck.

So, for those of you keeping track, we now had snow. It was really winter. Then, the temperatures started dropping. On Friday night, we were in town visiting friends and we knew it was getting cold, but we had NO idea! When we got home at 11:00 PM, the car thermometer read -15. That's MINUS 15 degrees! Wow! (Didn't feel that cold!)

Then, on Saturday (the day of the local Christmas art fair/sale), the storm that had been predicted for the Midwest actually started! (Usually, when a big storm is predicted and our hopes are up, Murphy's Law dictates that we get somewhere between zero and zilch in the snow department.) But, the snow came down all day Saturday, through the night, and into Sunday morning. By then, we had somewhere between 20 and 24" of the white stuff! Up and out by 8:30 Sunday morning, Tom and I started the "shoveling out" process.

Now, by sheer luck and determination and easy-as-she-goes stick-to-it-ive-ness (and against my express wishes, ah-hem), Tom had winched and jacked and wrangled the new plow onto the truck while I was (trying to - again, ah-hem) sell my wares at the sale on Saturday. So, the new plow truck was all ready to go following the big snow. While Tom worked on the house/garage/Trapper Cabin areas with the old plow truck and ATV plow, I headed out to the road. It was a bit dicey in spots, and THANK GOODNESS we had the one-ton truck ready because I couldn't have made it through with the old plow truck (nor could I had the temperature been warmer and the snow, therefore, heavier). (Although, if we'd known we only had that to use, we would have headed out during the night instead of waiting until the snow had stopped.)

Anyway, pushing two feet of snow is really something! Of course I had the truck in 4-wheel drive low AND a low gear . . . but on the uphills, I had the gas pedal PEGGED . . . and I was only going about 4 miles an hour . . . b-a-r-e-l-y getting up those hills by sheer will power and a hope and a prayer. It took about an hour to make that first pass out and back in and, believe me, it was with no small amount of relief that I completed the first pass out those 4 miles to the main road (which, itself, wasn't plowed yet)!

Tom and I both worked steadily for four hours that morning to get things opened up (the road, the driveway, the garage, the woodshed, the outdoor furnace, the trapper cabin, the house, and the chicken house). About 15 minutes before Tom was completely done with the fine work that the small blade on the ATV allows, the steel gear shifter snapped off in the cold. Doh! So much for that (until we get a new one ordered). It's always something, isn't it? But never boring! ;) As they say (and one of my new favorite quotes), "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful!"

These two pictures are from last Wednesday . . . after the first "small" snow and before the big snow!