Slight Detour: Say It Isn't Snow!

PHD

Yep, it's getting "piled higher and deeper," and we've got several more inches' worth to come this week.

At least this morning, we're getting a brief break. The skies are blue, not too many clouds and there's a frosty feel to the air.

Yesterday?

A different story.

Once that snow decided to come, it snowed and snowed and snowed.

Twas, indeed, a good call on the school district shutting down.

Bill and I teamed up with tractor and snow blower and later shovels for a good afternoon workout yesterday.

The tractor, with its rear plow, ALMOST couldn't move what had fallen since morning. Happily, it found some extra energy and globs of wet snow building up in front of the plow got moved to banks.

Bill was lucky in that the snow wasn't quite wet enough to prevent snow blowing, so the lane is cleaned out as is the area around the barn and the driveway.

I did hit a hitch when I tried to open the barnyard gate to let the horses in.

It wouldn't budge because snow had built up behind it. So, horses were threatened with their lives---well, maybe a lead rope---to get out of the way and stand back while I shoveled out the gate.

They seemed to know I meant business and remained in position until I summoned them forward.

A few hours of snow after a week of relative calm can certainly upset one's rhythm and bring back a few aches and pains.

This sled has turned into a valuable tool for me during this winter siege.

It has temporarily replaced my all-purpose, seemingly indestructible cart.

Lifting those cart loads of horse apples and shavings upward so I can dump them into the manure pile was taking a toll on my wimpy knees.

Plus, navigating it through the snow and ice clods and depressions was becoming difficult.

So, Bill suggested I use the sled. It has made a huge difference in the physical stress on my body while doing chores.

I use it to take hay to the barnyard, I use it to clean the barn, and I use the sled to bring loads of wood from the shed at the end of the lane.

Life has been much easier since I made the change.

Yesterday, as snow fell and filled up the previously shoveled out trails, I thought I had found another way for the sled to make life easier.

Noticing how pulling the sled loaded with wood left a trail behind me as I made my way down the lane, I thought, "Why not use the weight of the sled to pack down the new snow in the long canyon-like trail to the dog run."

So, instead of unloading the wood at the garage door, I pulled the sled with its load of wood toward the trail both Annie and Bill had kept cleaned out after the last big dump of snow.

By golly, it worked pretty well, packing down three or four inches of new snow.

I did run into a couple of problems.

The sled got gradually harder to pull because, in addition to the wood, fluffy white stuff from canyon walls began to fall into the sled.

Another challenge came when it was time to turn around, but with a little heave ho here and some there, I got it going back through the trail toward the house.

Not 100 percent efficient but it did save a bunch of shoveling.

And, shoveling we did yesterday along with blowing and plowing.

Happily, today we just have to clean off vehicles again for going our respective ways.

Bill will go in to do a little work, while I'll take Bridie to Center Valley Vets for her rabies booster.

Speaking of boosters, it looks like a good idea if you haven't gotten one yet or even a vaccination to get 'er done.

I noticed this morning's report shows the county Covid count surging again.

Where it was single digits for a few days before the new year, even after weekends, today's count shows 49 cases.