Snow and Ice

Our driveway is an ice skating rink. No, half of it is an ice skating rink, the half with a slope to it is a bobsled run. A few days ago we got about an inch of snow. And then another inch or so of ice pellets and freezing rain. It all mixed together into a thick slush on our driveway. We plowed the best we could and the rest froze.

Yesterday my car almost didn't make it up the sloped part. I was lucky we had driven in the slush and left tire tracks to freeze in it. I had just enough traction to get home. Then I went back out, lugging 5 gallon buckets of sand to spread on the hill.

It's just starting snowing again tonight. Another 5-9 inches are expected. I don't want to be the one to plow this storm. Snow on ice. Low traction. At least there's no where I need to go. This has been quite a winter!

Four years ago was another snowy winter. We were in a major living-space transition, living in my sister's newly finished house that she graciously offered to us for the year our house was under construction. I'm still in awe of her generosity. We were building a new house two lots over, my parents were building one on the lot in between. We've got a little homestead here. And the best part is we can hardly see each other's houses, but we see each other nearly every day.

Since my husband was away about half the time I was left to take care of winter driveway maintenance. Plowing. Me and my three kids, 18 months, 5 1/2 and 7 years old at the time. Two 800 ft driveways, and one shorter but much steeper one, and lots of snow. I'd buckle the kids into the back of the cab put on some Women's Yoga Chants and off we'd go. I was good too. I'm still the only plow driver not to have dented the truck or gotten it so stuck as to need external assistance.

Which isn't to say I didn't have my share of excitement. One evening as the dusk was settling over us I went out at the end of a storm to plow the driveways. It was heavy snow, may 6-9 inches, and I lost traction on the hill up to my parents' house. I tried valiantly but ended up with the truck sort of sideways, a tree just downhill of the side of the bed, a tree just ahead of the truck. Me and three kids (none of whom were wearing boots). No cell phone.

You know how people talk about doing things simply because they had to and not knowing how it all worked out. Yeah. At first I wanted to cry because I was so stuck and feeling helpless. Then I remembered it was up to me to work this out. No one was going to come find and rescue me. A shovel and I don't know what, and I managed to turn the truck enough to back it down safely. I left the rest of that driveway for someone else (without three kids and with a cellphone) to deal with another day (in the day time).

Well, since we've all moved in I haven't plowed. There's always someone else available. My parents keep the truck at their house because it's easiest to plow down their driveway, so my Dad is often our plow guy. Thanks Dad! The kids are grateful too, although I think we all kind of miss our time belting out those yoga chants together...