Wednesday, February 06, 2013

space management

Winter space management....maybe you wonder what the hell I'm referring to when I post it on FB.  

Plain and simple:  always doing a proper job of snow removal so that you have your entire driveway and sidewalk all season.  

I've seen people shoveling and shoveling and shoveling at the end of their driveway until they have a 5 foot high bank on either side of the driveway.  How are they going to see when they're backing out?  

They can't see you, and they can't see the kid walking his squirrel, either.  

And they don't have anywhere to put the next round of snow when it comes.

There's a fine art to snow blowing, much like there's an art to filling a wagon with silage.  Some of the same rules apply, although I'm sure the blower on the chopper had more velocity.  

Fresh wind driven snow and freshly cut chopper driven silage are both uncomfortable to get down your shirt and pants, but the snow just makes you wet and cold, not itchy.

I saw a kid today running a large snowblower, he had taken a pass down the middle, swerving over to the left side, as you stand at the garage looking down the driveway.  Then he took off again from the garage down the middle, straight, this time.  His 3 passes didn't meet anywhere, so I don't know if he was going for artistic, or if he was new to the art, or if he was just goofing off.

I learned pretty quickly here at home the best way to blow my driveway...and for the record, I've never purchased a snow blower, this one was given to us by Val's sister.  It's a Montgomery Wards Snow King, 7hp, 22" cut.  Maybe I can find some pics.


I know I have a pic of the snowblower in use, cutting thru snow as high as the spout.  *sigh* Between 2 computer crashes, a ext hard drive failure, and having 2 ext hard drives in use in 2 different rooms, pic management is difficult.

So anyway, the point to this whole post is to be vigilant with your space, don't be lazy and let the snow pile up and cramp your parking or cut down your visibility.  you have a whole yard, blow that shit out of the end of the driveway into the main yard.  Spread it out, is what I'm saying here.  

I also want to mention that the with the ownership of a snowblower comes great responsibility.  You are now responsible for any and all elderly or crippled neighbors' snow.  If you don't take care of them, this makes you a bad person.  

For several years I took care of the old lady to the north's driveway and occasionally did the sidewalk.  In the spring she always paid me, and I always protested the payment, because it wasn't enough.  j/k...I did it w/o the expectation of being paid.  If there was only a little, I let her take care of it.  But if there was a lot...I did it for her.  

Our neighbor to the East nearly always runs his unit all the way down the sidewalk to the street, clearing our sidewalk.  If I get there before him, I clear his sidewalk.  AND one year when he broke his foot in May, I mowed his front yard all summer.  Be neighborly...Do it, you'll feel better.


2 comments:

B00 said...

You're pretty good about this snow management thingy. Next time it snows in central Iowa, could you come manage my snow for me???

massagemick said...

no, but thanks for asking. :)