A Little Morning Adventure in the Snow

front steps 2-25-16
The front steps … somewhere.

The storm caught us full force last night. I’ve no idea how much snow we got, because it came sideways with 35 – 45 mph gusts. Drifts. We have drifts. Lots and lots of them. Deep drifts.

I waded out to feed the wood stove and livestock about 7:00 this morning. Had to shovel snow away from the wood pile so I could find the logs. Negotiated a waist-high drift in front of the barn. (Nearly lost poor Murphy, all I could see was the top of his head!) After the animals were fed and watered, I dug out the front steps where the top of the drift was almost even with my shoulders.
 
Got back in the house and out of my coveralls when Josh came to plow out the drive. Less than five minutes after he arrived, I heard that sound you never want to hear when someone is plowing out your drive. Stuck. Buried. Ice under the tires. *sigh*
 

Back into the cover alls and out with a shovel. We tried to dig him free. That didn’t work. I got the tractor out (which took about 20 minutes, had to get through those waist-high drifts to where his truck was stuck)Tried pushing his plow front with the bucket of the tractor. Nothing doing.

front drive 2-25-16
Looking down the driveway.
Watching us from the road, was a line of at seven trucks, five with plows on them, waiting in the middle of Nicholson Hill Road because some mental midget in a CAR was stuck a few feet west of our driveway. Way to go, buddy. They finally broke free when a county V-plow truck showed up and pushed the car out of the way. And then they all drove on by. Not a one offered to help. Some people’s children.

I negotiated around the drifts, digging through where I needed, and worked the tractor to the front of Josh’s stuck truck. Tried pulling him out with a chain. Nope. Didn’t budge.

He asked me if my truck is 4-wheel drive. Yes. But I asked him if we were going to get them both stuck trying that. He shrugged. Why not? With him in my truck and me doing my best to keep his plow truck running and steer it (don’t laugh – it’s an old plow truck), he finally jerked his truck free. 
front of the barn 2-25-16
The tunnel I dug with the tractor to get it out of the barn.
 

All that took just under an hour. By the time I’d peeled off my coveralls, hat, both pairs of gloves, and shucked my boots, I had to sweep a dustpan full of snow off my floor. Then it was into a hot shower.

The drive? Yeah. It’s still not plowed out. Josh is coming back later. He had to go help his buddy … who had BOTH of his trucks stuck. Good thing Josh didn’t mention that before he suggested using mine!
 

At least the temps weren’t too bad, in the mid-20s, so we didn’t freeze. But I do believe that the rest of my day – until evening chores – will be spent pursuing indoor activities.

Published by Pegg Thomas

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. They raise sheep and chickens; keep a few barn cats, and Murphy the spoiled rotten dog. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” Pegg is published in the Barbour historical romance collections. Pegg also works as Publisher of Smitten Historical Romance, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls. Pegg won the Romance Writers of America's Faith, Hope, & Love Award for 2019, was a finalist for the 2019 ACFW Editor of the Year, and a double finalist for the 2019 ACFW Carol Awards.

7 thoughts on “A Little Morning Adventure in the Snow

    1. That was a little tricky! I wasn’t brave enough to do the pulling with my truck. So I had to keep my foot on the gas of his truck (because it kept stalling out) while trying to keep the wheels straight while he popped the back end with the chain. I’m *much* more comfortable pushing or pulling with the tractor than with a truck!

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