Relative Something

Waiting, powerless, for nature to take its course and drape our trees with heavy burdens of ice and then snow, is a real exercise, but not one that is very rewarding. I am always fascinated with dramatic weather events, but when a storm involves the slow stress of accumulating ice on otherwise innocent tree branches, my fascination becomes tumbled with a bit of anxiety. Presently, this region is beset with an ugly, grumbling winter storm. Trees are drooping big time.

What can I do? I binged on a few extra Girl Scout cookies last night that were left as gifts by guests of our weekend event. It doesn’t quite solve the helpless feeling, but it massages the pleasure centers of taste and texture, providing a temporary distraction. (All those good intentions of last week, where I walked and exercised every day, diminished, by a moment of weakness.)

We have lived in the house on this lot for about 25 years. Just 3 days ago, Cyndie and I met with a realtor to begin the process of selling this home, and buying a horse farm. It would be a shame to lose trees any time, but right now would be very unfortunate timing. I won’t be available to clean up downed timber. I am tasked with removing wallpaper.

What is the deal with wallpaper? When it was installed during our remodel, it was the crowning achievement. It finished the rooms beautifully. All the comments we received were positive.

Now that it is time to sell, wallpaper has got to go. Out with it before somebody sees it!

What changed?

Why do people even bother putting wallpaper up if they are going to have to take it back down again, and it is such a pain to remove? I don’t understand “decorating.”

Drooping tree limbs. Wallpaper that has fallen out of favor. They both give me a helpless feeling.

In regions where winter means shoveling snow, there are some unwritten rules that are almost sacred. Granted, I can be a little particular about clearing my driveway and the shovels I choose, but I am certainly not the only one that tries to shovel the snow off the driveway before any car tires pack down tracks.

We received our first truly shovel-worthy snowfall of the season Saturday. I first noticed it late in the day, when I went out to get the mail. At that time, it had already covered everything with enough depth that I knew I would need to shovel. With that in mind, being such a big fan of shoveling virgin snow off the driveway, I purposefully chose to walk a path to the mailbox that followed the very edge of the pavement.

Later, on my way to bed for the night, I peeked out the front door to check on the amount accumulating and discovered my driveway had been violated! Someone had the nerve to pull into my yet-to-be-shoveled driveway in order to turn around. Who would do such a thing!?

On Sunday, as I was clearing the snow from the drive, I decided to imagine the possibility that it was someone in a dire emergency, maybe even a police car, that needed to make that maneuver, in which case, I would be more than happy to suffer the inconvenience.

I had a chance to practice that mental exercise over and over, as the blade of the shovel repeatedly got stuck on the tracks with each pass I struggled to make.

I’m playing hooky from the day-job today to stay home and supervise contractors doing work on our home. Regular readers will likely recall the posts I wrote last winter describing my rooftop adventures dealing with ice dams and gargantuan AC compressor smashing icicles. Today’s project is an effort to eliminate those winter hazards.

We ordered a home energy audit and discovered multiple issues that were contributing to the extent of snow melt on our roof last year. I have long suspected we had sub-par insulation, but I learned that I was oblivious to how many air leaks there were. Today, the leaks will be sealed and additional vents will be added to the roof and then a new dose of insulation applied to bring us up to an R50 level of thermal resistance.

Here’s hoping I get to stay off of my roof through the entire winter this year. Of course, there is always the possibility that by having this work done, I will have altered the balance of the universe and there will be no snow in Minnesota as a result. Plus, with Cyndie’s move to Boston, she will probably cause it to snow more there.

It already started with a freak early season snow storm out east while it was nice here. I’m just sayin’.

Spring in Minnesota does often look like this. Yesterday morning we awoke to the much more monochromatic vista of snow, instead of the bursting colors of spring.

I find it interesting to witness what it does to people’s psyche. I’m not sure if it is that they fail to understand the inevitability of such weather or just allow themselves to be bluffed that snow is done when the first days of sun and 70° finally arrive.

I do admit, that even I have caught myself wanting to remove the chopper mittens and window scraper from my car on those hot, sunny spring days that cause so many people to think snow is done and gone. Full disclosure: I took the mittens out… but, left the scraper in.

It’s not so bad if you mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable weather back-slide that briefly interrupts what we perceive as truly defining spring. Spring snow is incredibly beautiful. Depending on your perspective, I guess.

Explain the incredible beauty to the worm…

Yesterday was another quiet day in John’s wobegon neighborhood. ‘Bout the biggest excitement to report was the delivery of new snow shovels to my doorstep. I ordered them online and had them delivered. When I got home from work, I found them leaning up against my front door. Instead of bothering with a box, they just wrapped them together with stretch-wrap, so it was clearly visible what was being delivered. I was like a kid at Christmas.

When one of my favorite tools wears out after years of service, all I want as a replacement is a new version of the very same thing. In this era of constant innovation and new product introductions, by the time my favorites wear out, that model is often long-gone, replaced by the next “improved” version on the market.

It happened with our toaster oven recently, and it happens to me all the time with clothes and shoes. When I was no longer able to find my favorite shovel at the local retail stores in my area, I went online to YO-HO Quality Tools, the source of the best snow shovel for my uses. As long as I was ordering, I bought an extra one, too, in case they discontinue this model for some newfangled one next year.

While researching the site, I found a very nice looking shovel without the metal blade on the business end of the scoop. I needed one of those, too, since I broke the one I usually keep for clearing the wood deck. A plastic shovel is also what I take up on the roof, because I don’t want to damage my shingles with a metal edged one.

So, I received three shovels wrapped together. What I was very pleased to notice when I picked them up to bring them in the house, was how surprisingly light they were, even strapped as a group of three. They weigh less combined than the metal shovel that Cyndie bought a while ago as a potential replacement because it had a yellow handle and a black blade.

In addition to the light weight, another feature that makes this shovel my favorite tool for clearing our driveway and sidewalk is the shape of the scoop. It is shaped with side edges and an ideal curve to facilitate pushing snow like a plow AND picking it up and tossing it. Often times those actions are exclusive in a shovel blade. One design is good for pushing and another design is good for scooping and throwing.

Not to be overlooked is the 46″ fiberglass handle with poly ergo D grip. The D grip is essential in allowing my preferred technique of tossing the snow out of the scoop by releasing my left hand from the shaft as I snap the shovel forward, then pulling it back with my right hand in that D.

Just describing it almost makes me want to go out and shovel. Maybe best of all about these tools, they never fail to start, they don’t require gasoline or electricity, they don’t emit an unpleasant exhaust, and they don’t make near the noise of mechanical snow blowers.

Since the month of March is historically good for one or two big snow storms every year, I think my purchase was made at just the right time. Our local 7-day forecast shows a possibility of a big storm next week. With that ‘backup’ extra shovel I bought, I may even invite Cyndie out to allow her the experience of discovering just how meritorious a design the YO-HO poly snow pusher really is.

This winter has been a real shovel breaker for me. Yesterday it snowed all day. I waited to get out and work on clearing the driveway until 8:30 p.m., hoping it would be closer to the end of accumulating snowfall. Unfortunately for me, by that time we had about 15 inches of snow. It took me 2 hours to get the bulk of the day’s accumulation cleared, and we gained another inch while I was working. None of the city plows had been out yet, so there will be quite a pile to deal with at the end of the driveway this morning. I didn’t see it until I was almost out to the end of my driveway, but last night there was a car stuck in the street just at the edge of our drive. If it isn’t gone when the plow comes by, he won’t be able to clear the snow very well in the street at the end of our driveway. That will probably mean even more shoveling for me.

I wore out my favorite shovel as the metal strip ripped loose and prevented the scoop from sliding well along the asphalt. I may need to modify it by cutting off the remaining metal to at least use the plastic scoop. It isn’t important to me right now that I scrape right down to the pavement. To finish clearing the deep snow last night, I used the shovel that Cyndie purchased a year ago when I mentioned I should get a replacement for my favorite shovel. I could see it was beginning to show wear. The only thing similar about the pusher shovel that Cyndie brought home is that it has a black scoop and a yellow handle. It is metal and MUCH heavier than my perfect snow pusher. I wasn’t previously aware how much of a shovel snob I am. But after trying to do the same job with a different tool, I realized how much the tool I was originally using allowed my technique to work as well as it does.

I also broke my plastic blade shovel that I use on our wood deck, when I took it up on the roof to battle ice dams back in December. So this winter has officially taken out two of our shovels. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I saw a news item that mentioned this winter as our second snowiest to date. I think the record height of the snow piles on either side of our driveway serve as corroboration for that report.

Believe it or not, I have been back on the roof again! Even with all the work I did back in December to get my roof cleaned off, this winter has delivered a maximum dose of ice dam forming weather that has forced me back up there to intervene. This time there wasn’t as much snow as before, but the ice has just grown and grown up there. If it snows much in the near future, I’ll have a real disaster on my hands.

I have resorted to the do-it-yourself ice-melt granules in one of Cyndie’s old nylons. From the ground, I could see it was getting pretty thick on the outside edge, but if I didn’t get up there yesterday, I wouldn’t have discovered that there was already standing water behind the dam. I removed the snow cover from the bottom half of the roof, to minimize the source of additional water from melting snow. After chipping away a little channel, I placed my nylon ice melters in two places. If they turn out to do the job, I’ll be begging for more nylons, because I think my problem may require more intervention than just the one spot on each edge of my roof.

Ultimately, I’m thinking this year’s problem with ice dams is a call for improving the insulation in my attic. Unfortunately, I think it’s about time for new shingles, too.

Some images defy me to put words on them. Try as I might, this one prevailed in stifling the voice in my head. Debris has collected on the old snow. A pine cone has melted a fairly deep hole. The barely detectable sprinkling of new flakes that fell yesterday subtly soften the details. The broken, yet half intact, dried leaf dominates the view, in stark contrast to the white space just opposite. The image speaks for itself. Old snow… mostly.

Then, this morning, as if on cue, the landscape is a renewed dose of pristine whiteness. Overnight, a fresh covering of snow has fallen to clean it all up. It is a magical sight. What a great way to start a week. Happy Monday!

Even I, the great lover of all things winter, snow, and cold, have my moments of weakness…