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Monday, December 13, 2010

Snow

We got 17" of snow this weekend (I first typed snot! Ha ha) and it was -8 degrees when I left for work. It took me just under 3 hours to travel the 37 miles from home to work. Why oh why do we live here in Wisconsin?

Because...  that snow? It's a magnificent sight. It is truly beautiful.

The biggest problem in the cities (by my office) is that the streets are full of snow. Cars can't get out from where they were parked when it snowed, so the plows can't get it all plowed and because the plows can't get it cleared, the cars can't get out of their spots. Where the plows did get through, the cars are now plowed in. It's a big old mess. You'd think we'd have this figured out - we do live in Minnesota / Wisconsin afterall. It started snowing in the middle of the night on Friday and didn't stop until sometime early Sunday morning. Oh the sights you could see on Sunday. Everyone trying to dig out. As of this morning, my brother's street in St. Paul was still not plowed and they were all stuck at home, except for my one niece, who has been stuck at my house since Friday, because she couldn't go home.

In the country, where we live, the biggest issue is the snowdrifts. There is so much flat farmland that the wind just blows and blows that snow around, so there are a couple of patches of bare grass in our yard and other places the snow is piled up as high as the roofs. Even after the roads are plowed (our road is always cleared in a very timely fashion!), the wind blows the snow back across the road, creating drifts several feet high and as solid as a brick wall! We were dug out of our house by noon on Sunday, thanks to the heavy equipment on the farm! I can't imagine having to clear that snow with a shovel - I think I'd have had a heart attack. Cliff got most of the snow cleared from our driveway with the Ranger - he got the plow attachment mounted just in time. There was too much snow for even the Ranger in a few places, so Cliff's Dad came down with the tractor & loader and moved some of it out of the way. I took the shovel and cleared the front sidewalk. The wind was blowing and it was freezing out, but I was sweating out there in my snowpants and jacket, mittens and hat. Cliff was bundled up like an eskimo! We decided to venture over to my sister's place for lunch on Sunday, since we knew she'd been cooped up all weekend too, and it was just less than 2 miles away.  We turned on to her road and only then realized it hadn't been plowed! I knew there was no way we could turn around at that point, so we pushed through the snow, and managed to stay on the road. Her plowed driveway was a welcome sight!

I love the snow. I hate the long commute to work, but I do love the snow. More about our snowy weekend coming soon! We got our Christmas Tree! Yes, in the midst of the blizzard, we got our tree. Pictures coming soon!

Missed you all! Glad to be writing again!
Erin  

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