A commentary about snow shoveling in New England
Topsham, ME: February 8, 2020:
Finally, the verge between the road and the lawns is barely distinguishable and night falls.
When the sun comes up, our lawn glistens, revealing hundreds of tiny footprints from mice along with dual tracks of snowshoe hare and signature two-toed deer prints.
The distant rumbling of snow blowers and the occasional screeching of metal plows against pavement on our street fill my neighborhood. I hear these sounds, but I do not contribute to them. Because, my family hasn't owned a snow plow in more than a decade. Tiny rocks from our unpaved driveway would get stuck inside. We fixed it once, maybe twice, the blades would always stop turning. And, since we needed to get our kids to day care and ourselves to work, we just switched to shovels.
We have not switched back.
After two days of snow and ice falling in Maine, this back page essay, published in the AAA Magazine, "Northern New England Journey", describes a somewhat positive experience, considering the alternatives.
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| Winter Workout- illustration is by Virginia Vallely published in Northern New England Journey |
In other words, some people like snow. Nevertheless, I'm not sure this description about snow shoveling is convincing enough to encourage me to take on the challenge. I stopped shoveling snow when my sons learned how to operate our snow blower. Today, we hire a snow plow guy who charges us $50 a plow! Ouch.
Congratulations to Erika Cohen, for publishing this perspective about snow shoveling:
Winter Workout- The Joys of Shoveling Snow, by Erika Cohen, who lives in Chester New Hampshire
(No link is available to this essay)
"I love snowstorms in New England!", she wrote.
Especially the first one of the season, when the meteorologists warn us about how it will snow all day, and night and leave a multi-foot blanket of white in its wake.
First, the roads get too slick for regular car traffic, and the rhythm of passing cars through the woods on the main road slows.
Then, traffic is limited to the occasional passing vehicle. Their tires leave tiny slivers of bare pavement that the falling snow quickly fills.
Congratulations to Erika Cohen, for publishing this perspective about snow shoveling:
Winter Workout- The Joys of Shoveling Snow, by Erika Cohen, who lives in Chester New Hampshire
(No link is available to this essay)
"I love snowstorms in New England!", she wrote.
Especially the first one of the season, when the meteorologists warn us about how it will snow all day, and night and leave a multi-foot blanket of white in its wake.
First, the roads get too slick for regular car traffic, and the rhythm of passing cars through the woods on the main road slows.
Then, traffic is limited to the occasional passing vehicle. Their tires leave tiny slivers of bare pavement that the falling snow quickly fills.
Finally, the verge between the road and the lawns is barely distinguishable and night falls.
When the sun comes up, our lawn glistens, revealing hundreds of tiny footprints from mice along with dual tracks of snowshoe hare and signature two-toed deer prints.
The distant rumbling of snow blowers and the occasional screeching of metal plows against pavement on our street fill my neighborhood. I hear these sounds, but I do not contribute to them. Because, my family hasn't owned a snow plow in more than a decade. Tiny rocks from our unpaved driveway would get stuck inside. We fixed it once, maybe twice, the blades would always stop turning. And, since we needed to get our kids to day care and ourselves to work, we just switched to shovels.
We have not switched back.
Instead, we have shoveled ourselves out from every major snowstorm that has come our way since - a foot of fluffy snow here, a few feet of wet snow there and many smaller 6-10 inch storms. Our close friends have stopped asking when we will get a snowblower or hire a plow guy.
Our routine has been perfected by many storms. After dark, we shovel what we can with the driveway light to guide us. While shoveling, I've heard owls and the skittering of nocturnal animals in the woods next to the small pond on our land. When our kids were little, my husband and I took turns. Now that they are older, my son joins us, alternating between shoveling, sledding and snow shoeing around the front woods.
Shoveling snow has a rhythmic quality to it. I outline 4-foot-long rectangular chunks and shovel out the middles before moving down the driveway. Push, lift, throw, push, lift throw. Deep breath. Push, lift, throw, push , lift, throw. Deep breath. The world smells and tastes clean.
My shoulders and hands ache, but when I am done, I am very grateful for our warm house.
(Maine Writer Julie's response is "Amen".)
Our routine has been perfected by many storms. After dark, we shovel what we can with the driveway light to guide us. While shoveling, I've heard owls and the skittering of nocturnal animals in the woods next to the small pond on our land. When our kids were little, my husband and I took turns. Now that they are older, my son joins us, alternating between shoveling, sledding and snow shoeing around the front woods.
Shoveling snow has a rhythmic quality to it. I outline 4-foot-long rectangular chunks and shovel out the middles before moving down the driveway. Push, lift, throw, push, lift throw. Deep breath. Push, lift, throw, push , lift, throw. Deep breath. The world smells and tastes clean.
My shoulders and hands ache, but when I am done, I am very grateful for our warm house.
(Maine Writer Julie's response is "Amen".)
Labels: Chester, Erika Cohen, New Hampshire, Northern New England Journey, Virginia Vallely
posted by Juliana L'Heureux at 8:48 AM
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