More Snow Ramblings

When a storm of this size hits, it's not just the snow that you have to deal with - it's also all the clean-up the next day. Let's get to some more snow thoughts:

-Yesterday we ended up shovelling too early, another band of snow came through and this morning we were left with the oh-so-annoying total of two and a half inches of fresh powder on the driveway. I decided to just do 98% of it without the assistance of the snowblower (the other 2% being the end of the driveway which had been plowed under). Anyway, when I was starting the snowblower after an hour of shoveling, I had to pause for a moment after I thought I saw smoke coming from one of my gloves. I had a half-second panic attack, worried I had held my hand too close to the exhaust or something along those lines and the glove had caught fire. Turns out that what I really saw was steam coming out of the top of my glove because my body was giving off so much heat. You know, as much as I love my heavy-duty Patriots coat, moments like that make me wonder if it is a little too heavy-duty.

-Here's a free tip for you: if offered, turn down a doctor's first appointment of the day during the winter months. If by chance there is a major winter storm the day before, it could end up that you are at the office well before the doctor. And really, do you want to be the first person that doctor sees after sitting in their car for an hour on a commute that should only take twenty minutes? He's already going to be sticking instruments way too far up your nose, the last thing you want is for him to be agitated when he does.

-Not that I should have to point this out to you guys, but I am not a civil engineer. With that disclaimer out of the way, I assume that one of the first things considered by those engineers when designing things like traffic lights is that they be resistant to all forms of weather. Well, I am here to remind them this type of weather-proofing should include the wet snow that will stick to just about any surface. I only mention this because it appears the ones around here failed that criteria. I came to a stop light this morning that was clearly down-wind and as such a path for blowing snow. Every single light facing my direction was blocked by snow. I had no idea who had the green light. I ended up sitting there for a minute before a car finally came from the opposite direction. When they stopped I could safely assume it was because they had the red and I was alright to proceed. You would think that a snow test would have already been tried.

-One of my favorite day-after blizzard sights are the cars rocking what I like to call a 'snow-hawk'. This is the line of snow that runs down the center of a vehicle's roof, in a clear sign that the owner of the car tried to clear off their roof, but could not reach this part from either side of the car. I find them funny, because they are clear indicators of just how tall the person driving that particular vehicle is in comparison to their car. For example, snow-hawks are very common on SUVs driven by soccer moms. However, this morning I was taken back when I saw a snow-hawk on top of a Mini-Cooper. If you can't reach the center of a Mini-Cooper's roof, I have to wonder how you reach the pedals.