Althouse: Who shovels the snow in the backyard?

March 6, 2018

Who shovels the snow in the backyard?

51 comments:

Big Mike said...: Generally I don't do the patio but I do clear off the deck and the walkway between the two.; 3/6/18, 4:38 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: How else are you going to grill year-round.; 3/6/18, 4:43 PM
tcrosse said...: Who shovels the snows of yesteryear ?; 3/6/18, 4:45 PM
Steve said...: My Bassett hound is low to the ground, so more than a few inches of snow looks painful to me. But no, the whole yard is not cleared.; 3/6/18, 4:45 PM
Grant said...: tcrosse for the win.; 3/6/18, 4:53 PM
Clyde said...: I vaguely remember shoveling snow back in the 1980s. The last time I saw snow was at the airport in Philadelphia in 1989 when I ETSed from the Army and flew to Florida, where I have spent every subsequent winter. I don't miss it at all.; 3/6/18, 5:12 PM
Bob Boyd said...: "Who shovels the snows of yesteryear ?"

The Damned; 3/6/18, 5:19 PM
tcrosse said...: The Damned

On those cold days in Hell.; 3/6/18, 5:26 PM
Pete said...: I know it isn't Althouse. Someone has to document all the work Meade does around the place.; 3/6/18, 5:28 PM
Tommy Duncan said...: We shovel an area in our back yard all winter. Our dog (a 10 pound Maltese) can't make it through deep snow to perform her biological duties. Shoveling also makes it easier to collect the results.

Last night's 7 inches of snow was a chore. On the bright side: I've plateaued on snow shoveling.; 3/6/18, 5:40 PM
Peter said...: I had a neighbor who was a compulsive outdoor handyman. He would spend all day, day after day, working on his lawn, trimming trees, cleaning his pristine garage, overdeveloping his backyard, etc. In late winter when the melting started, he would shovel the snow off his lawn. He claimed it gave the grass a head start growing, but no one was fooled.; 3/6/18, 5:40 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: I shovel my own snow, but I cheat, I park the cars near the road so I don't have to clear the entire driveway. I have resisted buying a snowblower as just another thing to break.; 3/6/18, 5:41 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/6/18, 5:43 PM
traditionalguy said...: The perfect remedy for cabin fever is going outdoors for any excuse. Maybe to work on restoring the yard to its pre-snow condition. But those damn trees are still refusing to bud...maybe tomorrow.; 3/6/18, 5:43 PM
Linda said...: We shovel both our patio and deck. If there is more than 7-8 inches of snow we use the snow blower and make a few paths through the yard for our golden retriever, Sophie, who happens to be 10 years old today!; 3/6/18, 5:58 PM
tcrosse said...: Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver
Mon jardin ce n'est pas un jardin, c'est la plaine
Mon chemin ce n'est pas un chemin, c'est la neige
Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver

My country is not a country, it's the winter
My garden is not a garden, it's the plains
My path is not a path, it's the snow
My country is not a country, it's the winter

- Gilles Vigneault; 3/6/18, 6:01 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I think this means AGW is false because only cold air can make the skies humid enough to carry precipitation and erase any boundary between us and the polar vortex. Duh.; 3/6/18, 6:02 PM
American Liberal Elite said...: Until the dogs learn to shovel out their own comfort station, I shovel some of the back yard.; 3/6/18, 6:08 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: WE shovel the snow to make a path on the front deck, clear that back deck and create a pathway to the pump house from the back deck. Hubby takes the tractor and plows the snow out of the driveway to the road, clears the parking areas and plows a path from the house to the workshop.

Otherwise we just leave the snow everywhere else on the property and in the orchard. I like to look at all the footprints from the various animals and birds. The prints tell a story of what is happening while we are sleeping.

The other day it was very cute. A single larger set of raccoon prints and along side a set of very tiny raccoon prints. Mom and baby. Hope they enjoyed the garbage can that they were able to get into that night :-D; 3/6/18, 6:12 PM
DanTheMan said...: Sometimes it is so windy in late February and early March here that I must shovel the beach sand off our back deck. I don't mind, really, but it was almost 80 degrees.; 3/6/18, 6:43 PM
Curious George said...: Shovels? No. I do my and my 82 year old neighbors drive and sidewalk but I get my 1964 Ariens Sno-Throw out. Wisconsin made! $75 craigslist buy that I have had for the last nine years. It's a beast. Cast iron gear box. 7 HP Tecumseh starts first or second pull. Change the oil, gear lube, and spark plug every year is all. The key is using Sea-Foam in the gas. It keeps the carb jets clean which is the major issue with these motors. Had to change the skid plates and scraper bar on it as the wore down over the last fifty years.

They truly don't make them like they used to.; 3/6/18, 6:52 PM
JML said...: I did when we lived in IL. Upper deck, lower deck, then the stairs to the walkout basement patio then to the sheds...good exercise.... Thank God we moved back to NM and settled here in Placitas.; 3/6/18, 6:54 PM
MadisonMan said...: The beauty of shoveling -- or snow-throwing -- is the accomplishment when you're done. You can really see what the work has gone towards.; 3/6/18, 7:04 PM
stevew said...: I shovel most of my deck but mainly for access to the gas grill and the bird feeder. I clean off the deck stairs and an area for the dog to go. Then a path to the charcoal grill and the wood pile. I love being out in the cold and crisp air, the shoveling is relaxed yet invigorating. Remember to breath normally as you shovel.

-sw; 3/6/18, 7:09 PM
Curious George said...: "MadisonMan said...
The beauty of shoveling -- or snow-throwing -- is the accomplishment when you're done. You can really see what the work has gone towards."

Same with mowing grass. Or painting a room.; 3/6/18, 7:12 PM
langford peel said...: It was Ritmo.

He just wanted to prove to you that global warming is a real thing.; 3/6/18, 7:33 PM
Alan said...: Dog, path to the wood pile, paths to the bird feeders.; 3/6/18, 7:35 PM
JML said...: The beauty of shoveling -- or snow-throwing -- is the accomplishment when you're done. You can really see what the work has gone towards."

Same with mowing grass. Or painting a room.

Very true. And then it get's old. I loved the first month of mowing. The second was OK, then it became an issue. There were times I had to mow in Nov. Christ! Then the snow started...if it was a normal winter, OK. Ice storm...again, I'm thankful I'm no longer in IL.; 3/6/18, 7:44 PM
rhhardin said...: For deep light snow, I shovel paths across the backyard grass to have a playground for the dog. It hasn't snowed deep enough in a few years to make it worthwhile.; 3/6/18, 7:52 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "tcrosse for the win."

IMHO, this sorta comment is uber un-good.

Much worse than jabber re "I'll never get that [fill in some timespan] back." Even though that stuff also eats dicks. But not as much dick dining.

Anywho, for some reason, it was line breaks that Althouse decided to ban. As if nothing could not be more banal than something. Absurd. Especially from the POV of someone who claims to be in favor of nothing new, re a governing philosophy.

Senselessness.

Different strokes fer dif folks.; 3/6/18, 8:14 PM
MadisonMan said...: The last couple years, late-summer has been dry enough that my grass stopped growing. I think the 'lawn' I mow is about 30 feet wide and 35 feet tall. Not big at all. That's the lawn to have.; 3/6/18, 8:18 PM
Grant said...: Perhaps Althouse will ban me so ASS can be put out of his misery.; 3/6/18, 8:24 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "Perhaps Althouse will ban me so ASS can be put out of his misery."

That's not the goal.

I'm a month short of a decade of trying to get myself banned here.

Sheesh.; 3/6/18, 8:28 PM
tcrosse said...: ASS is purposely spacey. There's a lot of it going around; 3/6/18, 8:32 PM
Sprezzatura said...: And for Fs sake, how about noticing the logical error in my 8:14 syntax. This time it wasn't even hidden.

Sheesh X 2!; 3/6/18, 8:32 PM
n.n said...: It's for the dog.; 3/6/18, 8:50 PM
Gahrie said...: ...if someone else is doing it.; 3/6/18, 9:05 PM
Tank said...: Shoveling snow is one reason we're here in NC now. Back in NJ we had a looooong driveway, sidewalk, and shady exposure. I did have a small snowblower I bought in Sears for about $250 bucks. Lasted 25 years. At the end, every time I used it plastic parts would blow off with the snow. Sold it at a garage sale for $10 (and at the customer's request [to prove it worked] it started on the first pull).

We did not shovel the back yard. Geeeez Louise, get real !; 3/6/18, 9:15 PM
mezzrow said...: So happy to be a native Floridian.; 3/6/18, 9:34 PM
Fabi said...: There's no snow to shovel here so I had to play golf this afternoon. In shorts.; 3/6/18, 10:18 PM
chickelit said...: @tcrosse: It took a second look but that may be the most pithy comment about this blog yet.

Bravo,; 3/7/18, 12:12 AM
chickelit said...: Your 4:45 that is.; 3/7/18, 12:13 AM
chickelit said...: Althouse makes hodos in the snow.; 3/7/18, 12:16 AM
Breezy said...: I shovel steps and walkway parts that snow blower can’t get to, or more if it’s light enough and fun enough. Husband bundles up and snow blows driveway, rest of walkways, path around house, path for oil delivery, mailbox, deck which has a ramp for elder dogs we lost last year, elder neighbor’s walkways, and both of the fire hydrants nearby. It’s a ritual for him but he won’t admit it. Complains occasionally but never ever lets anyone else participate. He loves that machine blowing the snow far and away and the feeling of accomplishment of a couple hours work in the elements.; 3/7/18, 4:03 AM
rhhardin said...: Amazon reports an order of men's handkerchiefs was sent to Wisconsin by mistake and will be delayed.; 3/7/18, 4:37 AM
Wilbur said...: I moved to South Florida in 1986 from central Illinois and really haven't looked back. The only fond memory I have of the winters was getting out and working up a good sweat shoveling snow. I'd do my own drive and sidewalks, then drive across town and do my parents' and uncle's duplex, then come back and do a couple of neighbors, all before 7:00am.

Wilbur was blessed with a strong back and lots of energy. Then.; 3/7/18, 4:51 AM
rhhardin said...: March comes in like a frog and leaves like a golden retriever.

- Imus weatherman, citing somebody; 3/7/18, 6:14 AM
Jaq said...: Here’s a book written by a pilot: Jonathon Livingston Seagull. It’s about a seagull who was into aerobatics when all of the other seagulls said he should just stick to flying from point A to point B as required to stay alive. The ironic thing is that it is written in David Niven style simple declarative sentences.; 3/7/18, 6:49 AM
rhhardin said...: Birds are confused by the reversal of adverse yaw when inverted.; 3/7/18, 8:20 AM
Marcus said...: Years ago, left South Florida for Havre de Grace MD to visit with in-laws. It snowed overnight and since I am an early riser and such a do-gooder, went out and shovelled my BIL's driveway of its two inches of snow accumulations. When he arose and look at my handiwork, he said with his western PA Irish grin, "That's nice but I usually just clear a shovel-wide path down the center of the driveway and let the sun do the rest."; 3/7/18, 8:24 AM
Caligula said...: "Who shovels the snow in the backyard?"

People with small dogs?; 3/7/18, 8:54 AM