We we half right. The snow on the driveway was indeed mostly gone, however the ice was now 3-4" thick in places. Jay had thrown his back out shovelling on Christmas Eve, and was still sleeping on a heating pad and swallowing handfuls of Ibuprofen. I decided to take matters into my own hands.
My tool of choice was one of my favorites, and one I thought would be perfect for chipping the accumulated ice: my pickaxe. It did the trick, but after a couple of hours, my arms were so sore that I thought I'd need a straw to enjoy my New Year's Eve beverages. The pickaxe also left little chinks in the asphalt driveway, about which Jay was not pleased.
Jay is able to get the vehicles up and down the driveway, but I am not. So I threw a tantrum, insisting we park at the bottom whenever the forecast called for snow, so as not to pack down any more frozen precipitation, thus making it easier to clear and giving us a snowball's chance in Hell of ever parking at the house this winter. I got my way but am feeling pretty guilty, as Tuesday's snow never materialized, and Jay has had to walk both ways in the dark and beastly cold.At least it's not uphill both ways.
I don't think anybody was prepared for this kind of weather. Since moving here 12 years ago, the winter storms we've had usually pass and we forget.
ReplyDeleteI'm taking my old snow blower in for maintenance! Give my best wishes to Jay and tell him to watch the downhills, wouldn't want him to slip and throw his back out!
I sympathize with you! We live in the mountains of Utah and get snow that visits, thaws, visits again to make the ski tourists happy, and rarely freezes. This year has been unusually cold and the ice is everywhere! I've been throwing ice melt everywhere, very liberally, only to discover that it is eating our concrete and asphalt. Oh, well (sigh) that's one more spring project, right?
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