Random Snowy Thoughts

The area I live in (Bergen County, NJ) got nailed by a good old fashioned Nor'Easter over the weekend that dumped a couple feet of snow on us. Nearby NYC recorded the largest single-storm snowfall ever recorded, almost 29 inches (although I was sure there was one ten or so years ago that topped 30 inches). I spent a good part of my day yesterday moving snow around, shovelling out the cars, clearing the sidewalks (and since I live on a corner I have twice as much sidewalk as my neighbors), and raking snow off part of the roof that's got a mild pitch so it tends to form ice dams. Advil is my friend today.

Since this is a rant outlet for me: The town Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for plowing, salting, sanding, etc. Since I live on a small side-street I don't expect to get plowed early. We finally got a plow Sunday afternoon, and only then did I go out and finish clearing the driveway. An hour or so later DPW sent another plow that actually left the road looking worse than it did before, and of course plugged up my driveway again. I did get a little lucky though, on the side of my house the plows often run right along the curb and throw the snow up onto my sidewalk.

The snow in NYC where I work is the usual post-snowstorm color, a brownish grey sludge. Anyone who describes someone as "pure as the driven snow" has never seen snow that's been driven over.

I've noticed that the ability of an individual to drive in snow decreased with the size of their SUV. Hint: Four-wheel-drive won't help your two-ton monster stop, so please don't drive 75 mph when the road is snow covered. Someone I care about may be in the car you ram into.

Whenever we have a snowfall like this I wonder if it would be a good idea to buy a snow-blower. The only problem is that I'm terminally cheap, and snow blowers in the price range I'd be willing to pay only handle up to eight or ten inches of snow. Honestly, I can generally handle that much snow with my shovel. I can't see spending $1,000 or so on something I'll probably only really need every two or three years.

I'm fairly handy, mechanically. I used to work with a guy who was, to say the least, not mechanically inclined. He decided to buy a snow-blower, so he sought my advice. The blower he bought had an electric starter, you'd plug it in, start it, then unplug it and go blow snow. He didn't understand why it also had a pull rope, until I explained that if it stalled at the far end of your property it was probably easier to pull the rope to restart a hot engine than to walk it all the way back to the electrical outlet. He also asked me about the chute on top that directs the snow, asking which way he should point it. I told him that depended on where he wanted the snow to go, left or right. He asked if he could point it straight back, to which I replied "(Name withheld to protect the dopey) you'll be standing there!"

Well, it's supposed to turn warm later in the week. I'm glad we got the basement waterproofed last year, since normally this much snow melting would give us a nice pond in the basement. I'm working on a couple entries that are just about ready.