When life gives you snow, turn it into training...
My heart goes out to all of the plants in the front yard that had no idea that 5 inches of frozen crap was already on its way. Now on a self-preservation note, this was a super awful storm. When I ran it through my hands on the back porch it was like the silica balls of ice that weighed as much as steel.
This led me to my first unsuccessful manual snow clean up of my life. I managed about 100 shovelfuls before I realized that this method was just not going to work. Now I digress... I swear that when I get back from this trip I am going to school for small engine repair. When I read the directions for how to cold start this machine it was a disaster. I muttered stupid things like where is the choke it's not labeled! The upside is that i know what an engine is supposed to sound like so I just played with the three levers and the primer until the snow blower submitted and worked. Only then did I discover that it is dual hand-controlled, but it has a semi-flat tire. Luckily I worked out the controls and the tire survived my manhandling... well nearly. It is parked on the lawn awaiting a tire. That is an entirely new lesson that I will tackle post-snow. The upside of all of this is that I am so sore that I must have worked out some muscles that will be useful as I climb mountains, cross the desert and volunteer across the Americas.
Now some of us had a better day... Beaver One lives in the most opulent apartment complex ever. They do things like salt and plow the parking lots while he is able to work and mentally prepare for an amazing snowshoe trip around the local park. Not that I can be all that upset because we all need to practice our snow skills. Heaven knows, he may need to pull me out of a crevasse at some point.
Above you can see our Christmas
presents: mountaineering shoes, crampons and snow shoes. These all need to be broken in. Broken in, in a place where the only snow we've seen all year is sleet in March... Well, one can only do what one can do.
I have a two hour delay tomorrow but this does not help me get in more snow practice because it is forecast to be -7 F when I wake up. I am solid with cold weather but this is crazy! It is nearly time to turn in and I am listening to the wind whip against the windows. I can't help but wonder what will happen when we are out on the road and the wind comes in like a Lion and out like a Rhinoceros. Not exactly what the old saying reports, but then anyone who travels knows that it is rarely the way it's reported in the days of olde.
