Dan Antion

One of These Things – #1LinerWeds

During the 24-hour period from early Monday morning until early Tuesday morning, we collected more than a foot of snow. The snow was light, and while it fell constantly during the period, it never snowed very hard. Once the sun rose, and the coffee settled. It was time to get to work.

Snow removal is a fairly large job. Our driveway is about 80′ (24m) long and wide enough for two cars at both ends. It chokes down to a single lane as it passes the house. If that was all I was trying to clear, I think it would take 30-45 minutes – tops. However, the town requires that we clear the sidewalk. Despite the fact that some people don’t, I do. And I clear my neighbor’s sidewalk. He’s 95. My father would reach down from Heaven and smack me upside the head if I didn’t do that. I also clear his driveway, a single lane from the street to the garage door on his house, is easy.

In addition to his walk and driveway, I make one pass up his ramp. It’s far from a complete job, but it’s a very good start. I would do a better job, if he left a shovel outside, but he refuses. This time, I heard a weird sound and saw a bunch of debris coming out of the snow blower’s chute. He had never brought his newspaper in on Monday – he never will. It reminded me of when we would watch Sesame Street with our daughter.

“One of these things is not like the other…”

One of my neighbors gave me a head start on the sidewalk. He made a pass Monday evening.
The sidewalk is ready for a man and his dog.
The snow was pretty light. It was fairly easy to move.
I once broke a shear pin on a Sunday paper. This one didn’t put up much of a fight.
It’s amazing how big a mess this can make.
My new safety glasses have Transition™ lenses. The side shields also block the wind and keep my eyes from watering.
Maddie would consider this to be an example of “No Facilities”
“Rest areas” have been added to the path.
Eventually, there will be an array of paths around the perimeter and near the firewood racks.
Smokey tunneled in from the neighbor’s yard.
Thanks for clearing a place for us.
“Don’t tell the nice lady that I’m living in here.”
The Editor started a fire in the wood stove to dry my boots and clothes. MiMi aproves.
I took one glove off. Maddie decided to try to capture it.
“You call this cleaning the deck? The little kid up the street would have done a better job.”
I don’t know why a hole always forms through the snow on this shrub. Always in the same place.
The fire is out. MiMi isn’t happy.

83 comments

  1. Ooops… I’m glad the snow blower won the battle with the newspaper. Dan, it’s remarkable how much warmth is in this cold snowy post. :) I loved seeing the furry family — and the squirrels. That one living in the whatever cracked me up. Too cute. Hugs on the wing!

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    • That’s The Editor’s firewood rack. She has several, but they’ve been turned into condos. We see squirrels in them, and we see bunny prints leading up to tunnels in the snow near their base. But, we still feed them. Everyone is safe and sound.

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  2. You’re a good egg, cleaning the neighbor’s snow. We only got about half of that expected foot, but it all turned to sleet late in the day and made an awful mess. Heavy and icy. .. back breaking to clear.
    Love the perk a boo squirrel pic.
    👍

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    • I was surprised by how much of a difference these safety glasses make on this job. The tint helps with the glare, but the wrap-around nature of them, and the cushion seal on the frame really does a nice job of blocking the wind. Our neighbor discovered his paper – I don’t think he’ll be doing the crossword puzzle. He was OK, with it and said “we’ll clean it up sometime.”

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  5. Great job on using the prompt, Dan. As always, I love your photo journeys. Who knew that safety glasses can have transition lenses? My favorite today…the little squirrel hiding in the “nice lady’s” something. So sweet! 😊

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    • Thanks Gwen. That’s my wife’s firewood rack, and she is not happy that these guys moved in. They’ve never done that before. They seem to know they aren’t supposed to be there. When I ordered the safety glasses, the optician asked if I wanted Transition lenses. At first I said no, figuring that I only use them in my shop. Then I thought about the times I wear them outdoors and changed my mind. They really make a nice difference.

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    • The snow was light and fluffy, Frank. A breeze to clear. The neighbor’s driveway is much smaller than ours, it’s no bother. These days, we worry about people being able to get to him. The squirrel is pushing his luck with the nice lady.

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  8. Hi Dan – to me that’s an eye-watering amount of snow to clear … still I guess the tools help – while the glasses make it easier to see. Fun animal photos … I’d be a cat … lucky them – with a wood fire too … hope it doesn’t cause too much of a mess … and yes ‘one of those things’ … Hilary

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  9. haha, a terrific, light-hearted post, Da. Most people would be complaining about clearing the pathways, but you had me chuckling through the text and pictures!! 🥶⬅⬅ does that look like a cold face to you?

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  10. It is nice to see that your snowblower got a good workout, Dan. It would have been overkill here, given that we got somewhere around 4 to 6 inches over a protracted period of time. Your fancy glasses give nice eye protection and that Steelers hat hopefully keeps the ears and head warm. It’s good to see the squirrels up and active–no hibernation for those little guys.

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    • We’ve had two heavy snows this year, Mike. More than enough to justify that machine taking up a big hunk of my shed’s floor space all year. Even 4-6″ would cause me to bring it out. The town plows leave a very heave mess along the sidewalk. I’ve had times where I shoveled the driveway but had to get the machine to deal with the walk. The glasses are a real treat, one of the best decisions I made in 2020. As for the hat, I wish the Steelers were still playing, but I’m still a fan.

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  11. I love the new look, very Mad Max-ish! Or should that be Mad Dan? No, Dastardly Dan! Let the snow beware! Ha ha. We certainly don’t get the snow you do. We used to but it has been years. And I’m OK with that. One nice thing about neighbourhoods are the neighbours. You are a good neighbour my friend.

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    • Every year, in the spring, Pam, this neighbor has given my wife tomato plants that he grows from seed. I clear his driveway now, and I eat tomatoes in July – it’s a nice arrangement. I have to admit, I like getting at least one big snow. We’ve had two that dumped just over a foot of snow this season. Now we can step it down to normal size ;)

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  13. I do the paths for the dogs with shovel, and believe me, I mutter at times while I work. I shovel whole inner part, so that they don’t have to deal with snow up to their knees. You look dashing with your goggles.

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  14. Dan, you are a good soul. You have very lucky neighbors. Kudos to your parents for raising such a fine, caring man. And to the Editor for keeping you that way!

    I just love the shot of Maddie aiming to catch that glove. And yes, “rest areas” in the yard are necessary for our dogs!! I love how the squirrels can depend on you for food and shelter! MiMi looks quite content and I have no doubt MuMu is too, wherever she’s hiding waiting to be brushed.

    Great sunglasses. Good looking and so practical. Or, as my son-in-law would say, “functional”!

    We received a MINIMUM of 24″ of snow! 😡😤😡😤 I am not a happy camper to say the least! Snowing again….hope it’s just a last gasp.
    Ginger

    Think positive. Test negative.

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    • Oh Ginger!! 24″ of snow. Yikes, that’s a lot. I’d say “poor Murphy” but I’m sure you took care of her rest areas. Maddie never misses a chance to steal my gloves.

      Before I owned a snow blower, I had neighbors who would help me when the snow was bad. I hope it’s a trend that can stay active as I get older. The glasses are functional. More so than I imagined the would be. They do a great job of keeping the wind out and the glare painless.

      3″, 12″ or 24″ – it wouldn’t bother MiMi or MuMu. Life goes on for those two clowns.

      Take care. I hope you don’t add much more to that 2-foot base.

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  15. Thanks for taking care of your neighbor, Dan. I can’t imagine what he would do without your help.

    You have certainly have your share of snow. Pretty to look at, but not so much to shovel or snow blow. It’s another beautiful day here that begs for a walk before a Thursday storm and bitter cold that might hang around for awhile. It’s still winter!

    Have a fabulous Wednesday! Hope it’s a day of rest.

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    • I mentioned to someone above, Mary. This neighbor has always given my wife tomato plants that he starts from seed. He’s a nice man. I’m sure he would pay someone to handle the snow, but it’s really not that hard for me to do it. I’ve seen people who clear their sidewalk (with a machine) and stop at the property line – I just wasn’t raised that way.

      According to our forecast, your cold snap is heading here, expected to arrive by Monday. Lots of single digit lows in the future. Feel free to latch on to it and keep it there for a few extra days.

      Enjoy your walk.

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  16. Your father taught you right, and mine did too. Yesterday I was recipient of a random act of kindness. A local realtor was driving by, saw us struggling to snow blow our 18″, and wanted to help. It was wonderful to have him plow, but more importantly we talked and connected on mutual friends and interests. He was a guy we had hoped to meet some day. I never figured it would happen under these circumstances.

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  17. Mimi has her paws tucked in tight so somebody who shall be nameless can’t come along and grab one. You are a good guy, shoveling all that snow, even blowing all that snow with a machine! It ain’t no warmer running a snow blower.

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  18. Snow blowers, newspapers, and shear pins oh my. The second day of snow here. Nowhere near a foot of snow. Maybe another inch. Still there was a bit of slush on the bottom. Not quite enough to turn the snow blower into a snow cone machine. Just enough that it was manageable with the shovel. And not too much of a workout.

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  20. What a great neighbor you are! One of our neighbors and He-Man do each other’s snow shoveling if they get out there first but what usually happens is they end up doing the jobs together and making short work of the driveways and sidewalks. Quite a few of our neighbors don’t bother with the sidewalk bit. It’s annoying. I walk in the street in those spots.

    Your new safety glasses look cool. Way better than those classic clear plastic ones.

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    • I used to “battle” with the guy a few houses up. We would each be out there as soon as the snow stopped falling and we would almost race to see who got to our mutual neighbor’s house (he was the lucky one). Sadly, that neighbor died way too young. I do the sidewalk for his widow. He son plows her driveway. He’s the guy who did all three sidewalks this time, giving me a wonderful head start.

      I am surprised by how much better I feel wearing these safety glasses for this job. No glare was anticipated. No wind is a bonus!

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  21. You’re a good neighbor, Dan. My husband and our next-door neighbor also help each other with the front sidewalks, although they each do their own driveway (and the neighbor has a plow service for that). So far this year, we haven’t had enough snow to even justify taking the snowblowers out, and I hope it stays that way. A couple of years ago, though, we had a massive storm; imagine my surprise, and delight, when my neighbor’s professional plow truck came over and did our driveway, too! I’m so happy with where we live now.

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  22. You are a good person slap on the head or no. I couldn’t help but think that photo of you was attached to a BOLO issued by the FBI. Glad the pin held on the paper. I guess the old guy won’t miss it much. Fun post, Dan

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  23. You are such a good person, Dan. I had to laugh about the little squirrel until I read your comment about chewing through the rack covers, and setting up a condo. Oh, dear. Maddie looks so cute in her action shot–I love her ears!
    We only have our paper delivered on Sat/Sun. I read it online during the week but I really look forward to sitting with the paper on the weekends. Like it’s a special treat or something.

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    • He’s been a good neighbor, too, so it kinda evens out. These guys have destroyed the log rack covers. That was a new thing in 2020. Now we see a bunny tunnel that goes to the end of one of the racks, so I guess at least one bunny is living in there.

      I can read the ePaper, but I prefer paper.

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  24. It’s sad you never receive comments on your posts🤩. I guess this year we are very low on expected snowfall, except for the Yellowstone area which was at a high percentage last week. We are expecting snow the end of the week but also wind. We’ve had some 50+ temps the last few days. It is sad for the growing or tree buds seasons. They never know what to do!🙄. The snow hole pic is a great story prompt.

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  27. Your parents raised their son to be thoughtful of others – that’s a great thing you are doing for your neighbor. Wow, that’s a long driveway! A lot of snow to be moved. Ours is two car lengths long, and it’s the longest in our cul de sac:).

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  29. Look at you in your sylin’ glasses!! The newspaper debris part of the story has me laughing. Outdoor shredder. :-) In Ohio our double garage attached at the back of the house, so we had the long driveway plus all that pavement in the back plus sidewalks. Even with a snowblower it took a lot of time. But I usually did the sidewalks for neighbors on either side and a bit further and the driveway of the people across the street who didn’t have a snowblower. Eventually everyone had snowplow service but I’d still do the sidewalks.

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  30. We got about a foot too. We don’t live in town and don’t have a sidewalk. People who do have a sidewalk are supposed to clear it within 24 hours of the snow. As a runner, I can assure you many don’t. You are a good neighbor!

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  31. Yeah, Dan’s beasties! So good to see you all again. I must say that those are some stylish protective glasses. And this is a LOT of snow. It reminded me of the times when it fell in Ljubljana and what I did is drove my car back and forth and back and forth and that was that…

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  32. When my husband and I lived up north, our property was dingy. It was filled with a house, back deck, 2+-car garage, and driveway. Nevertheless, my husband would scoop a path from our covered back deck to the front walkway where our mailbox was, down that walkway to the street for the post-person, and another path to our neighbor’s walkway where their mailbox was. What can I say? We liked our post-person. Because where we lived was a small town, the deer liked what my husband did too. It allowed them to get to the grass under the snow.

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  34. I love that you help your neighbor. We do not have sidewalks, but when we did, The Mister would do Mr Brown’s with the understanding that he would do his own driveway, because according to Mr Brown, if you stop doing the shoveling, you can’t shovel no mo. Mr Brown was also a Marine and may have been as old as The Mister is now.
    I also love the shot of Maddie going for the glove.
    And the squirrels! Smokey looks great in the snow!
    Where is the squirrel living? The one who wouldn’t want the nice lady to know?

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    • The squirrel is living in the nice lady’s firewood rack and has chewed a few ventilation holes in her rather expensive firewood rack cover :(

      My neighbor preferred to do his own driveway until only a few years ago. He agreed that I could do the sidewalk. Now, at 95, he’s good with whatever I do.

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