While staring out the window yesterday, watching the snow piling up, I said to Tara, super excitedly, “Looks like it’ll be enough to bust out the snow blower!”
It was. And this morning, I did. But then I couldn’t help thinking, what is so exciting about using a snow blower?! It’s big and bulky and difficult to maneuver and the next day your body aches in places you didn’t know it could. And there is no other machine with wheels you push around that elicits the same amount of glee. You never hear anybody say, “Looks like the living room carpet is dirty enough to bust out the vacuum!” Or get excited because the grass in the backyard needs mowing. Why are those things chores while clearing the driveway with a snow blower is such a treat?
I think the snow blower just has a raw power that appeals to my Y chromosome. You fire that sucker up and it rumbles to life, emitting a primal growl. Ease off on the choke, push down on the throttle and you’d better be prepared because that thing bolts forward like a racehorse rocketing out of the starting gate, your entire body vibrating as you guide it down the driveway. I suspect it’s the same thrill bikers must feel when they climb aboard their Harleys.
Plus, the way it shoots snow 20 or 30 feet into the air is pretty badass. You know what? If my vacuum cleaner shot dust and debris into the air like that, I’d be clamoring to vacuum the carpets more often.
And also looking for a new vacuum cleaner, because that would obviously be a major malfunction and totally defeat the purpose.
How much snow did we end up with? About 1/3 of a cat.
Actually it’s kind of hard to tell, because it was windy and we got a lot of blowing and drifting snow. I measured a few different places and it was anywhere between 2.5 and 5 inches. Somewhere in the middle sounds about right. That snow blower pic above isn’t from today, but rather, two years ago. We didn’t end up with quite that much.
Here’s what it looked like yesterday at noon, from the top of our street.
It was our biggest snowstorm since mid-December, which really just speaks to how boring our winter has been.
By the way, if it seems late in the season to be dealing with snow, around here winter is just getting started. March is our snowiest month, and April is a close second. Case in point: Wednesday is looking like a repeat of Saturday. I might get to ride my hog snow blow my driveway again!
Doesn’t mean we aren’t starting to think spring. Today, Tara got her grow lights up in the basement and planted some seeds. Granted, they won’t go in the ground until mid-May, but it’s a start.
Ha. Gardening humor.
A few entries back, I posted pics of her many plants, and a couple of you wanted to know more about the AeroGarden. Check out this bad boy!
This was a Christmas gift for Tara, and we have been blown away over how well all the plants are doing. They’re going gangbusters—especially that dill, which we have already harvested bunches of and used in several dishes. I also made Kung Pao turkey meatballs last week using some Thai basil. Good stuff.
The AeroGarden, in case you aren’t familiar, is a hydroponic growing system. All you do is fill the reservoir with water, add plant food every two weeks, then sit back and watch it grow. The LED lights are on a timer, and can be raised and lowered. Pretty nifty, huh?
You can buy specialized seed kits that come in pods (I got Tara the herb kit); they also sell empty pods that you can fill with your own seeds.
We’ve tried indoor herb gardens in the past without much success, but this has been pretty effortless. And the results, as you can tell, are impressive!
Mark My Words 
Leave a comment