Zowie
An epic snowfall at our Nest last night. We woke to 18 inches, possibly more, and it was still falling. Pretty, yes – who doesn’t delight in a winter wonderland – but 75′ of driveway covered in thigh-high drifts between the Subaru and the road did not counsel merriment. After three coffees and a hearty breakfast I got after it. The one shovel we keep down there was like a child’s toy against the berm the plow had left us. We’d heard it earlier, lumbering down the beach road while we were still in bed. Must’ve been 8 AM or so. Happy Wife jumped up and threw on a light to let the plow guy know we were there, so that he might lift his shovel as a courtesy as he passed by our driveway? Wah wah wah….
Like many things, shoveling seems futile at first, yet if you keep plugging away eventually you realize, “I can do this.” Or throw a hernia, or suffer a heart attack.
When we’d arrived the day before we found the water lines frozen, except one. A roaring fire in the wood stove, a space heater in the crawl space, and a couple hours later all was forgotten. I’d promised Happy Wife she’d have a hot shower before bed, and made good on that with minutes to spare. The Black Dog was unmoved by the snow avalanching off the metal roof. About every hour or so we heard it, a thunderous slide of a few hundred pounds or more. Didn’t keep us from sleeping like dead people through the night, though.
After shoveling, we we’re on the road early back to Anchorage. Around Moose Pass it was hard to make out where the road was. The snow was falling really hard there and the few plows out couldn’t keep up. We pressed on, albeit slowly. About five miles north of Moose Pass the snow had stopped but the road was still sketchy. To make it worse, blowing snow, low clouds, and intermittent ice fog reduced visibility. Some fun! We’d be driving along and all of sudden, Blam!, there’d be a car or truck right in front us. Couldn’t see it, of course, being the entire back of the car was plastered thick with snow.
Finally, we made it back to Anchorage and what’s this? – it’s snowing! And not softly. Pulled into the driveway (barely) to find 12-18″! Happy Wife grabbed the shovel this time and said, “I got this.” “Don’t you dare try to shovel all that yourself young lady,” I said. She wasn’t out there ten minutes when our neighbor rolled over on his four-wheeler with attached plow and did us right. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s getting a handsome gift certificate to Butcher Block 9.
Go Packers!