Althouse: My snow-walk...

February 2, 2011

My snow-walk...

... around the neighborhood today.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...: So, Althouse, as I said at the end of the post where you exploded in your righteous feminist rant:

I'm considering taking a job as organist and choir director at one of the larger churches in the NYC metro area.

I gather you won't give me a reference?

And, here I was counting on you.; 2/2/11, 8:32 PM
ricpic said...: A black iron fence in winter
Is a taste of bitter truth;
It almost/not quite cancels out
A toothsome Baby Ruth.; 2/2/11, 8:34 PM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/2/11, 8:41 PM
John Burgess said...: Sissy. Those walks are shoveled!

Why, in my day...; 2/2/11, 9:01 PM
MadisonMan said...: Of course the walks are shoveled, this is the midwest where people are courteous to their neighbors who can't get through snow. So they shovel.; 2/2/11, 9:08 PM
Unknown said...: Meade did all that?

Man, no wonder you don't see him much anymore.; 2/2/11, 9:10 PM
The Concrete Dog said...: in oldn days i was god
not *the god but *a god
but fell outta favor whn
jeebus hisself came and
made concrete gods look
foolish

not as foolish as
gods made f twigs, but
foolish

anyway right now im a
garden statu
covred in 18 iches of snow

but its honest wrk; 2/2/11, 9:13 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: I like the one with the car snowed in - brilliant.

I scraped ice off my windshield this morning and afterwards, when I sprayed water on it and ran the wipers, the water froze. That's pretty damned cold.

If we get any more global warming, I don't know what we're going to do.; 2/2/11, 9:24 PM
The Concrete Dog said...: i rlly miss the sacrifical offerngs tho

its nice t be needed; 2/2/11, 9:40 PM
gadfly said...: Your pics remind me of the snow fall levels in Madison during the Blizzard of '78. i was tooling along westbound on W. Beltline near Gammon when everything went white! I don't remember how i got through the bend but visibility improved. I stopped in Middleton and the filling station guy told me that I would not be able to get west on Airport Rd., so I stayed the night at Porky's Motel for $8.00.

Memories from the good times!; 2/2/11, 9:50 PM
1775OGG said...: AA: Ah ha, your area sidewalks are cleaned but that one street looked unplowed. Time to attend your next city council meeting and set those bureaucrats straight!

OBTW: Living up here in the northland is wonderful! A friend lives in Sydney, Ozland, where the current temperature is in the 90s! Don't like that kind of summer heat.; 2/2/11, 9:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Hey Garage, where you been?

Do you use GarageBand on Mac?

I've just started using it.; 2/2/11, 10:09 PM
Anonymous said...: That should read:

Hey Crack, where you been?

Do you use GarageBand on Mac?

I've just started using it.; 2/2/11, 10:33 PM
Bender said...: That's it?? That's all you got??

We got twice that -- on two separate occasions -- last year here in D.C.

As for that car -- should have been out clearing it while the snow was coming down. Wait too late and that snow turns to ice. (Of course, the people around here never seem to understand that. They always wait too long.); 2/2/11, 11:08 PM
MamaM said...: Concrete Dog: Appreciation is not the same as a sacrifice, but when written words cause another to laugh, and then read them aloud to another someone seated near them beside a dying fire, one celebrates the power to ignite.; 2/2/11, 11:16 PM
gadfly said...: Hmm ... so bender from DC is somehow more qualified than the folks behind the cheddar curtain to deal with the aftermath of snowstorms.

Yogi was right! I have seen this movie before.; 2/2/11, 11:29 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Doug Wright, those streets all looked plowed to me.

Bender, most of the time, way up north, the snow doesn't turn to ice. We got 4 or 5 inches of powder 3 or 4 days ago, and it's still powder. If you delayed clearing your car off, you could still clean it off with a broom.

Of course, it's bitchin' cold, but that's the way it is up here.

I prefer it to the slushy mushy mess of South Jersey winters.; 2/2/11, 11:43 PM
G Joubert said...: Looks like Meade shoveled the snow off the sidewalk and onto the car.; 2/3/11, 12:13 AM
Peter Hoh said...: For the benefit of those of you unfamiliar with snowblowers, the car covered in snow was on the receiving end of a snowblower that cleared the sidewalk.

Notice how the snow seems all pebbly?

I don't know if that's the best word, but the surface of the snow isn't smooth, like undisturbed snow. It's had extra snow thrown on top of it.; 2/3/11, 12:49 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: ST,

Hey Crack, where you been?

Since my brother, Malcolm, died a couple of weeks ago (the one I'd never met) I've been talking to my sister, Marva. It's been great. So good I haven't been online as much - not even posting on TMR! We've been basically catching up, after decades apart, with long rambling phone calls and emails.

Anyway, I'll still be around, but this is too special not to enjoy it.; 2/3/11, 1:38 AM
SEO services said...: The car covered by snow tells it all the trouble one undergoes during winter

Its nothing but the effect of global warming as also the case with OZ(Queensland) drowning with floods as never before

SEO services; 2/3/11, 4:05 AM
Deborah M. said...: Gorgeous neighborhood.; 2/3/11, 4:13 AM
Clyde said...: I haven't seen snow in 22 years. I don't miss it at all.; 2/3/11, 5:07 AM
Shanna said...: I can't decide if I'm sad about missing this batch of snow or not.

Bender, most of the time, way up north, the snow doesn't turn to ice. We got 4 or 5 inches of powder 3 or 4 days ago, and it's still powder. If you delayed clearing your car off, you could still clean it off with a broom.

That happened with the snow we had a few weeks ago. Every other time I remember it has all turned to ice and been difficult to get off the car, but this time it just flopped off with a broom. Nice.; 2/3/11, 6:43 AM
The Concrete Dog said...: the bad thng about wintr storms
is whn i have to wear
a ridculos 18 inch sno hat

when i was a god
i nevr wore hats

now peopl think its cute
and make me waer hats alla time
o the shame

once the littl grl who lives here
tied a prple scarf arond m neck
an i felt a lil like a god again

it was quite feching; 2/3/11, 6:48 AM
tim maguire said...: They do a nice job of clearing the sidewalks around your town. In these parts, responsibility changes every 15 or 20 feet so some areas are nicely cleared, some barely so, and some wait for the spring thaw.

Sucks when you're pushing a stroller.; 2/3/11, 6:59 AM
The Concrete Dog said...: if i still had my powrs
i wuld bestow riches on mama m

like lovng smiles
in a warm summr rain
that noone expctd

that was one of my favrit gifts
tho few seemd to want it
not as much as money r gold

most prayrs lack imaginatn
they all wantd cash

but lowr-case g gods have
limitd powrs
i was mostly good at
laftr n kisses n
come hither looks

mayb thats why im now
a gardn gnome

shoulda guv out
wads of 10s n 20s
then id still be in th game

o well; 2/3/11, 7:02 AM
alan markus said...: Those pictures remind me that on those rare occasions when I have ventured into some of Madison's older residential areas, the first thing I notice is that there seems to be no consistency in house designs or style. As Sixty Grit pointed out, that house has a steep roof. Looking at the next house, it almost appears to have a flat roof. Sometimes it seems like every house in the block is "out of place" in comparison with the rest of the neighborhood.; 2/3/11, 7:11 AM
Christopher in MA said...: I hate snow. But I love that last house. Now, if I could only take a house like that to somewhere warm in the Carolinas, I'd be a happy man.

Here in northern Massachusetts, we're still shoveling out from the Monday-Tuesday double-punch storm (almost wrote "donkey punch." I'm starting to feel that way about this winter). Probably another 4 inches or so are predicted for Saturday, then another storm Monday night.

Did I mention I HATE winter?

wv: broncte. Charlotte with a cough.; 2/3/11, 7:48 AM
Toad Trend said...: Some nice 'shacks' there, where you live.

How old is the neighborhood?; 2/3/11, 7:52 AM
MadisonMan said...: Biddy did a nice job shoveling.; 2/3/11, 8:04 AM
kjbe said...: The terrace and end-of-driveway mounds on the drive in to work, this morning, were quite impressive.; 2/3/11, 8:12 AM
KCFleming said...: Now is the discontent of our winter
Made laborious by this sonofabitch snowstorm;
And all the ice-dams that low'r'd upon our house
And the deep bosom of the car buried.; 2/3/11, 8:15 AM
TosaGuy said...: Big snows are where we in my neighborhood figure out who are slackers and who step up and be responsible human beings. I'll help anyone out with my snowblower if I see them struggling with their shovel or if I know they are elderly or otherwise indisposed.

Those that leave their full trash carts on the curb for a week so the snow plow can launch them (fun to watch) or don't bother to lift a shovel may get their city sidewalk snowblowed by me -- but that is for the good of the overall neighborhood. However, when they finally get their dead butt off the couch in the late afternoon to tackle their driveway, my tired butt will remain on mine.

Also, one person I helped yesterday never bothered to say thank you. Guess they don't get helped again.

It's not hard being a good neighbor, but some fail at it miserably.; 2/3/11, 9:16 AM
1775OGG said...: Either Madison has very narrow streets or the ones that Hoh claims were plowed had one lane opened for his personal use. The first photo clearly show a street and that certainly looks like it had a lane plowed; tremendous city serving there. Guess a person had to be there since those photos, which were very interesting BTW, didn't support Hoh's claim. Over here, in the land that the NFL is forgetting about, a street isn't plowed until it's been cleaned edge to edge; For Socialists, that means curb to curb.

Also, that car covered with "pebbly" snow might have been buried by someone's snow plow or the city's street department plow. Ever seen a snowplow throw up huge amounts of snow, looking like the curl of a surfer's dream wave? No! Well get out in the storm then, Mr. Hoh!

BTW: Thanks for the civic update about your streets over there, Mr. Hoh. Careful please, with your snow shoveling, don't overdo.; 2/3/11, 9:30 AM
JAL said...: Nice Christmas card pix potential.; 2/3/11, 9:32 AM
Sal said...: Boy, TG, that's quite a lot of responsibility you carry - both shoveling and the morality cop in your neighborhood. Best of luck to you.; 2/3/11, 9:45 AM
Daniel Fielding said...: Ann- yu r neighborhood in Madison looks very much like the Burns park neighborhood in A2. Wouldnt you agree?; 2/3/11, 10:05 AM
MadisonMan said...: Doug, I also think those streets are plowed. The first one is pretty narrow. And by late winter, the accumulated snowpiles on either side do have a further narrowing effect. It's a great uphill road with a nice twist at the end. Fun to drive up.

The buried car was plowed in -- you can see that on the driver's side. The pebbly snow is pretty clearly on the passenger side and obviously came from the sidewalk that althouse is standing on to take the picture.; 2/3/11, 10:32 AM
JAL said...: @alan markus

I'm curious. You don't have to tell us how old you are -- but maybe a generational thing here.

Maybe any resident architecture hisorians on list can comment.

In the Old Days houses were not mass produced. "Neighborhoods" around where I grew up in the northeast were not created all at once, as much as they grew organically, so to speak.

In the 50s and 60s houses a contractor might be built several at a time, but not by the dozens -- or even hundreds.

While there are styles associated with different eras, within those styles one would tend not to build the same thing over and over. And there weren't many -- if any -- rules about what you could and couldn't build.

People actually bought a lot and chose what they wanted to put on them. (No community covenant rules in most cases!) That lead to a variety of styles.

MY NY neighborhood was middle class blue color people for the most part. We had frame houses and stucco houses (maybe the NY Italian influence?), with a couple newer ones being ranch style. The stucco houses were all totally different in style.

Some of the houses could even be "kit" houses. My mom always thought ours was a Sears & Roebuck kit. It was 1 1/2 stories -- typically steep roof, as this was the northeast where it snowed.

Where I live now one area of the local city is known for its variety (get that -- variety) of {original} craftsman style homes. Other styles of homes are interspersed throughout those neighborhoods.

The expectation that a neighborhood would have all the same type or style houses (or even look alike!!) I think is something that started after Levittown (L.I.) post WWII. (also here.)

Perhaps it accelerated with the explosion of housing in the 80s and 90s whereby whole "neighborhoods" spring up in the middle of nowhere -- or on someone's old dairy farm and the houses are the same thing over and over, built with the same materials -- and sometimes even the even same paint color.

Older middle class neighborhoods allow for a lot more individualized expression, methinks.; 2/3/11, 10:33 AM
JAL said...: TosaGuy --Here's something cool about shoveling snow in neighborhoods -- hat tip to Instapundit several days ago.

Winter in America; 2/3/11, 10:36 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Doug Wright: Also, that car covered with "pebbly" snow might have been buried by someone's snow plow or the city's street department plow. Ever seen a snowplow throw up huge amounts of snow, looking like the curl of a surfer's dream wave? No! Well get out in the storm then, Mr. Hoh!

You mean like this?

I live in St. Paul. Of course I've seen a city plow push snow up against a parked car. Althouse took the photo from the sidewalk side of the car. Not the right angle to judge what the city plow did when it passed by, but it appears that the plow swung to the left, so as not to hit the car.

It appears that most of the boulevards in these photos are rather wide. This may be why you perceive that the streets aren't fully plowed. (Boulevard is the term we use for the strip of grass between curb and sidewalk -- other regions use different terms for that strip of grass.); 2/3/11, 11:50 AM
1775OGG said...: Hoh: St. Paul, eh! Well, that explains everything. In Minneapolis and its environs on our side of the Big River, boulevards usually do not have residential houses on them nor are they as narrow as your analysis portrays them to be in Madison. Still, if StP is only plowing a narrow lane on its streets, the ones Jesse called Cow Paths laid out by drunken Irish Herders, well, perhaps you should attend an StP City Council meeting and demand satisfaction for your tax pittance.

Actually, find a MNDOT plow truck, one with a large curved snowplow blade and notice it going to work on deep snow at a rather high speed; it'll throw up waves only a surfer might love.

Ps: Here's hoping the MN Legislature will combine Mpls and StP into one primarily Democrat haven and thusly combine your "lady" with Minneapolis' "gentleman" into a remarkable election contest for the 2012 House Congressional race.

And, yes, you're correct that AA took that photo of the buried car from a sidewalk, still it's apparent to an analytical viewer that the car was buried, perhaps by a snowblower or perhaps from a street snowplow truck. Too darned bad that not all of us have you keen sense of the absurd, which you have in spades, so to speak.

Cheers, and tad tad.; 2/3/11, 1:05 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Doug, in my experience, St. Paul does a much better job plowing curb to curb than Minneapolis does.

Many of the side streets in Minneapolis have parking on one side only, as the streets are not plowed side-to-side.

FWIW, MinnDOT trucks with the large, curved plows work the highways, not city streets.

You seem to think that people who live in St. Paul all think the same way. I have a friend and neighbor who would strongly disagree with that notion.

Personally, I'd rather have St. Paul join with it's eastern and northern 'burbs to make our house seat a competitive one. I don't like the practice of creating safe congressional seats.; 2/3/11, 1:30 PM