A New World Record

Remember last week when I posted a picture of the timer on my car’s dashboard and said I set a new record for longest Methuen to Westwood morning commute? I think it was two hours and 12 minutes, but it might have been 2:15. Something like that at least.

I smashed that record today. I didn’t have the timer running so I don’t have a picture, but I left the house at 7:30 and got to work at 9:49.

Two hours and 19 minutes.

2:19.

Oh happy world record setting day.

Winter sucks. Mightily.

Blame the Snow

What? That’s twice in a week that I went a whole day without posting anything. What the hell is wrong with me?

Blame it on the snow. I have been in a snow induced cloud of aches and exhaustion for the last week or so. I have never wanted Spring more than I do at this moment.

Who is Watching Me?

I was outside shoveling tonight. I had been digging and digging for about two hours. It was never ending. My arms could barely lift the shovel, but I was soldiering on. I scooped up some snow, turned around, and threw it as hard and as far as I could…

And noticed that there were two deer at the tree line of the neighbor’s yard that were standing stone still watching me. I kept shoveling and they kept standing there. It seemed like it lasted for maybe 10 minutes. Every time I turned around they were there. They stayed perfectly still, always watching me. It was so cool. I started talking to them. They didn’t run away. Not that I was close to them or anything, and there was a mount everest sized snow bank between us. They had no reason to be spooked, and neither did I. It was just really cool. Eventually one of them calmly walked off into the woods, and a few minutes later the other followed. It was so cool.

Shortly after that I got called into the house for dinner. My beautiful, charming, beloved wife made an awesome chicken dinner and it gave me a nice break from the snow and the freezing cold. I had maybe 30 more minutes of work to do. Most of the heavy snow bank at the end of the driveway was gone, but there was still enough to worry about. I also had to do the fire hydrant. At about 8:00 I stood up to go back outside and finish and what did I see? Our next door neighbor and his snow blower. He had just dug out the fire hydrant and he was starting on the little patch of snow left on the driveway. Woah! Thanks, neighbor! Clearing the hydrant is a big help, but I look at that as him helping out the entire neighborhood. I feel good about myself when I do it, because I know it’s a potential life saver. If one of my neighbors wants a piece of that good karma then have at it. Our driveway though, that was above and beyond the call of duty. Our neighbor is once again a hero of our household! Thank you!

Yet Again

It’s happening again. For the third consecutive week, we kick things off with a huge snow storm. The snow banks at the end of my driveway are taller than I am, and I am wicked tall. Each shovel full has to be tossed about 10 feet into the air to get it over the top of the mountain. If I try to drop the snow on top of the mountain it slides back onto the pavement. I have to go over the top so it slides into the yard. We have an icicle on one side of the house that hangs so low it is only a couple of inches above the ground. The squirrels no longer need to jump to get onto the bird feeders. That is, if the squirrels weren’t buried under four feet of snow.

I am a hearty New Englander. A little snow doesn’t bother me. I stand proudly with my shovel, daring mother nature to do her worst.

Well, that’s how I usually feel. Right now? Our third multi-foot snow fall in just under two weeks has me feeling beaten and broken. My whole body is sore. I’m exhausted. Each time I head out into the storm I feel like I can’t take it any more. Somehow, magically, I get back inside with a clear driveway. I sit down hard on a chair in the living room and hope that it’s over. Then I look out the window again and the clean driveway is covered again. Or, as happened earlier today, I catch a weather forecast that says the next multi-foot storm is four days away.

It leaves me (figuratively) standing defiantly before mother nature with both middle fingers raised in the time honored double freedom rocket salute yelling at the top of my worn out lungs, “YOU SUCK!”

Then I pick up the shovel and start digging. Mother nature remaining steadfastly uninterested.

Hang in there, New England. Just remember that pitchers and catchers report in 11 days. We can make it. It might be a close call, but we can make it.

The Blizzard of 2015: Clean Up Edition

It’s 10:00pm and it’s still snowing. It’s not bad now though. It’s barely sticking at all. After work tonight we had dinner and then at about 6:00pm I went outside to tackle the drive way.

The kids had actually played around on the driveway a little bit and brushed off part of the cars. That was about six hours before this was taken.

Here is a good representation of the snow bank the plows had left us at the end of the driveway. We have the shovel and the back of the Nissan to give a frame of reference.

And here is a good representation of how bad it was at the edge of the street. I look at this and ask, where is it? I can’t see it…

Oh there it is!

Full disclosure, just after I started digging the hydrant our next door neighbor came over with his snow blower and did almost all of it. He is once again a hero to our household.

I hate snow.

The Blizzard of 2015

I poked my head out of the front and back doors at about 7:45 this morning. I figured I’d snap a few pics in the morning, and then a few in the afternoon, and then a few before bed so that we can all have fun (sarcasm) comparing the size of the drifts and such.

Out the front of the house we see this freshly fallen frozen hell.

I didn’t actually go outside. For this pic I had to lean around the open door. Hence the tilt. I’ll try harder next time.

Out of the back door, the first two don’t have any frame of reference. They are just nice wintery pics.

The gas grill gives us a little perspective on the whole awful mess.

More pictures this afternoon. Assuming we don’t lose power.

Snow

I shoveled the last of yesterday’s snow off the driveway this morning. I believe it is the best snowball/snowman making snow I have ever seen.

In other news, the snowpocalypse is supposed to be coming late Monday night and running through Wednesday morning. They are calling for about three feet in my neck of the woods. We have been lucky in these parts as yesterday was the first real snow storm we’ve had this winter.

Looks like our luck is about to change.

Yippee.

Think I’ll hunker down with my guitar and hope the power doesn’t go out.