What a Life!

There’s an ongoing joke at our house…if you want to know what the weather is going to be, call up my dad. He probably knows more about it than we do. Even though he’s in Florida. And we’re in Nebraska.

This afternoon, I got an out-of-the-blue call from my dad.

“Is it snowing?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Is the wind blowing a lot?”

“Well, a little. The snow isn’t coming straight down, but it isn’t drifting either.” [I hope I answered that question sufficiently. Was it blowing? I don’t know. What is blowing?]

So Dad, this snow report is for you.

This is a picture of our house this morning. It actually started snowing after Steve left for work. Apparently the ground beneath his truck was warmer because you can see the snow is just starting to stick to where it was parked.

This is a picture of our house this afternoon. According to radar, the snow has stopped…at least for a while. They’re predicting more overnight, though.

The neighbor cleared the sidewalk with his snowblower. It seemed to be pushing the snow more than blowing it, so I’m thinking the snow is what they call “wet” snow. But I don’t know for sure because I’m inside where it’s warm, and I have no plans to go out.

As we speak, the After-Snowstorm Testosterone Contest is going on. Everyone gets out their snowblower and demonstrates how big it is and how quickly they can remove snow with it. If you have a certain tough spot, don’t worry – someone with a bigger snowblower will come over and help you out.

If you’re wondering about our current standing in the After-Snowstorm Testosterone Contest, this is the first year we’ve had an actual snowblower. Steve had a super-duper snow scoop which worked fine for our purposes. Last summer, his brother sold us his snowblower which he didn’t need any longer. The one used to clear the sidewalk (which was pushing the snow more than blowing) is smaller than ours. Ours won’t have any trouble with this snow, but it is by no means the biggest in the neighborhood.

The one owned by the neighbors who own the white house you see across the street in that picture – it’s bigger than any snowblower I’ve ever seen. It’s a walk-behind, but the wheels are big like on a rear-tine rotor tiller, complete with tractor treat. In fact, the blades on it are bigger than I remember on the one attached to our lawn tractor in Michigan. It’s a serious snow blower.

But it’s not just a contest as to who has the biggest snowblower, though. There’s also the Nice Guy I’ll-show-everyone-how-big-my-snowblower-is-by-clearing-everyone-else’s-sidewalks-too Contest. That, as well, is amusing to watch. How much clearing everyone does is different every time. Last snowstorm, a neighbor four doors down cleared our sidewalk, which really surprised us.

Steve will be home soon, and I’m sure the boys will enjoy watching Daddy clear the snow. I’m just grateful I don’t have to go out and do it. [Shiver]