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| This is not an epic amount of snow for Michigan but it is enough to get your attention if you leave a plowed roadway. The object in the picture is a typical, full sized picnic table. |
I got my ass chewed this morning.
We got about 8" of snow last night. It was windy and the snow drifted.
As was my custom, I went over to Sprite's, fired up her tractor and plowed her 750' long driveway.
Then I plowed my 80' long driveway with Sprites tractor.
After the first pass of my driveway, I saw a man had parked his truck so it was blocking the end of my drive. He wanted a word with me. Actually, he wanted MANY words with me.
It was one of the couple who was house-sitting Sprite's house while she takes a much needed vacation "down south".
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
I had plowed the drive wrong.
I had awakened him with the sound of the diesel engine at the gawdawfull hour of 9AM
He demanded that I return the tractor at once.
The first thought that crossed my mind is that he waited until his driveway was done before he complained.
I asked how it was possible to plow a driveway wrong? I wanted to know.
According to him, I failed to plow a path to the chicken coop and walking fifty yards through eight inch snow was not going to happen.
I must confess to the sin of "judging" at that point. I decided he was a "city person".
I drove the tractor back to Sprite's and parked it beside the garage.
Looking at the weather forecast with gleeful anticipation
There are four inches of snow in the forecast shortly before Sprite returns. If the 10mph winds are from the west, the driveway will fill up with about two-feet of drifted snow. If he waits to plow it, the snow will harden. Blown snow is granular while freshly fallen snow is flaky. Blown snow is denser and there is more grain-to-grain contact and it quickly diffusion welds together.
Windchills in the neighborhood of -3 are predicted.
And the secret to Yoda-like serenity is to be able to sit in a recliner in front of the fire and say "No longer my problem".
Joe, you can be my neighbor any day... but you'll have to move to Texas. It got down to 16 last night with a bit of snow. Pipes here aren't used to that. Neither are people. I freely admit - I'm not man enough to live "up North":-)
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching for the update to this story.
ReplyDeleteAs tempting (and easy) as it is to get angry and even put a fist to the nose of assholes like that - as I've aged I have learned that laughter and ridicule work best in the face of such rude idiocy.
ReplyDeleteAs deeply satisfying as the look on their face and horror in their eyes is when they are picking themselves up off the ground and wiping blood on their hands - it tends to be too costly with respect to legal and financial strife these days, and it plays all to well into their already fomented victim mentality.
Best to laugh at them and ridicule them openly. In turn it incites THEIR anger (which usually allows the whole situation to become even more humorous).
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/intoxication/spite-devil
Hehe... Not my circus, not my monkeys is a good mindset sometimes.
ReplyDeleteBut I recognize the clowns.
DeleteAlthough it's uncharitable of me to think it, I do hope you get a chance to witness a painful outcome for your house-sitter and I'm sure you'll be wearing your serene 'I wouldn't dream of interfering' expression.
ReplyDeleteSay....this house sitter - are you sure they aren't writers from California? I seem to recall another plowed-driveway-be-damned-if-I-thank'em in the news recently
Hehehe, I like the way you think...
ReplyDeleteIn the schadenfreude department: It was reported today that all the people who moved to Texas from California feel right at home now that the power has gone out.
ReplyDeleteAs an author, it is disconcerting to see some of the things I write about happening. Epidemics, power grid issues.
DeleteI think it is time to work an orgy or two into my writing.
you are a saint. being a sinner myself i would have plowed his vehicle out of my way with a hearty f/u! i gladly help anybody that asks, or needs it but won't ask. but that just pisses me way off.
ReplyDeleteIf only you could have put the snow back . . .
ReplyDeleteTexas IS a mess right now. Those green-wind plants esp in West Texas froze solid. It would be funny but my neighbors and I have had rolling blackouts last 48 hours or so. Some South Texas homes dont even have a furnace. ( Cause it isnt supposed to be cold for long so a space heater is plenty....unless electricity goes off). Sadly, some uneducated ( to living in cold) have died and/or set their homes on fire by accident. When electricity is out you cant just park your BBQ in the house to get warm.
ReplyDeleteMany Friends in Houston area now have frozen pipes. It hasnt been this cold this long in over 30 years. SO pipes aren't insulated or covered well. Some go up outside walls ( Like along uninsulated garages). Oh....and many water heaters are in attics. Which, is sort of ok, unless power is off for 36 hours and pipes going to water heater freeze and break. Also solar panels are covered with snow-sleet-freezing rain . Isn't green energy fun ?? Lets all get electric cars !
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