City - Brookie Street State - WINTER-WONDERLAND, ILLINOIS Country - United States
About
When I went outside this morning I found three foot deep drifts all over the place and an average of twelve inches of snow. I bundled up. Gloves, famous leather jacket. Nathan’s military desert camo full length coat over all. Hiking boots and a full-face motorcycle helmet. I figured the helmet would be better than any kind of hat I own. My ears were toasty. The wind was off my face… just like riding a snowmobile. It was a brilliant decision. I spent about an hour shoveling a path through my front yard and clearing the area around my car and MM’s Montana. When we hear of an impending major snow storm we do not put the vehicles in the garage. We line them up tail to nose in the driveway. Then we do not have to shovel out the area they sit in. Pretty dang smart, eh? So after the first hour I went in, shook off the snow and took a tall glass of grape juice. Welche’s. Second time out I did not use the helmet. The wind had died down and a good sturdy baseball cap was just fine. I worked about forty-five minutes and managed about three-fourths of my goal. I came back in for a sit-down. It was at this point I knew I could eat more bacon. I had just moved nearly two hours worth of snow and I was not breathing hard. I had no chest pains and not a tingle to be found in my left arm. I love bacon…. Third time out was interesting. I went to work on the cars a bit and saw the mailbox. I remember a few years back we had a nasty note from the mail-lady. It read; “If you don’t clear the snow away from the mailbox you will have to drive into town to get your mail.” So I try and keep it cleared enough for her to keep me from making the one mile drive… kekekekeke. As I was doing the mailbox thingy I saw Lanette a few hundred feet west, right down Brookie. I sighed…. Shouldered my shovel and hiked over to her. She is about 25. Nice enough girl. She was trying to dig her car out. It was buried up to the windows on both sides. I just started in. She stopped, “Are you going to help me?” “Of course I am!” We chatted a bit and I cleaned a great swath around her car. I easily did eighty-five percent of the work. Which I did not mind in the least. It took about forty minutes. But here is the interesting part. Fifteen minutes after I started in, Lanette’s husband came out of the house, waved and jumped into a friend's car and drove off. “Interesting,“ I mused. Ten minutes after that, Lanette’s father (just a few years younger than me) wandered out. “Hi, Jim! I guess she will have to bake you a cake for the help!” “Naw, the workout is enough. I don’t mind. Keeps me in shape. So I can eat more bacon.” He laughed and I pushed it just a bit harder. “Besides, if Mary had looked out the window and seen Lanette doing this all by herself and I wasn’t helping… she would have clobbered me.” Joey… oh! Joey… remember him? The fella what was picking mushrooms in my woods a few years back? Who could not take a very subtle then a very direct hint to get out of my yard? Same fella… so Joey hears my comment about MM and laughs back, “Yeah, she probably would.” Idiot....... So I get Lanette dug out and shuffle back to 926 E. and clump into the house for the third time. “Finished?” “No, helped dig Lanette out.” “You are such a sweetie-pie!” After another glass of Concord grape juice, I go out one last time and finish the driveway. Total time? three hours and change. Amount of snow removed? About a gazillion metric tones… all by hand. Me and my favorite yellow shovel(shovel head is black, I know... but the handle is bright yellow). Standing back a bit and surveying my effort I mused, “Who’s the tough guy now, eh? Took God 8 hours to drop it here and me only 3 to remove it.”
Pic is of Joey using his snowblower… and my trusty yellow shovel… and Lanette’s freed car. Joey and I are the same height. He outweighs me by 40 pounds. I am 174 and he is well over 200. He cannot put his hat on without huffing and wheezing.
Did I tell you I can eat more bacon? (Ooops... wrote 1750 shovel loads in the next comment. That should read 1250. My comment on bacon stands.)
well hey Jimmie... that cloud those clouds what I sent yer the pics of well we went out for dinner as I said and about 7.30pm it began to pelt down.. I was so excited I kep leaving my seat and goin and lookin outer tha winduzz to watch it... at 7.40pm it had stopped..and again this morning we rose to heavy overcast and then yes thunder and it began to rain again.. I went out and checked the gauge so I could tell how much rain we got in todays rain 5.0mm O/nite ..but alas now 10.51am and it has long ceased tho it is still o/cast thanks for the Karma fingers crossed
Read that email (if it was the one about retiring and maybe moving) I could not see you leaving your place. Only because I always think that people become one with their home... For instance, could you ever, ever, ever, ever see me posting with the address, JIL 926 E. Brookie. Wyoming. Seems a bit strange, eh? But then again. H.V. may just be your place... not your love. And just for your information... We have a lot of room in Illinois. You are welcome.
Hey, MM saw this photo and said, "You better go get that shovel. Someone might steal it." And I shot back, "On this block? What would they do with it? Break into a house? They sure as hell wouldn't know how to use one!"
Adding Lanette's car, I calculate I moved approx. 2500 cubic feet of snow. Fluffy to wet snow can vary in weight between 7 pounds per cubic foot to 20 pounds per cubic foot. The top portion of the snow was light and fluffy but since we had 60F weather here for 5 days prior to the snowfall, the lower layer of snow was a bit melted and water-logged. Taking the average I moved approx. 25,000 pounds of snow. And with my shovel doing 2 cubic feet a scoop... That is about 1750 shovel-tosses. I am tired tonight, let me tell you...
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