Shoveler's Anonomous
 

Hi, my name is Orangeroom and I'm a shoveler. My driveway has to be as clear as possible at all times.

You too? Or are you a "Mother Nature put it there, she can take it away" kind of person.

Out here in our part of the forest..........we use a tractor to plow our driveway.

another 4" last night ..my annonymous shoveler is out there now. his jobsite closed today because of most recent storm ..i'm letting him do his thing ...i have doll quilts to finish, and that's a whole lot more important than snow everywhere! :D

We almost never get snow here, so I will just stay inside if any appears and wait for it to melt. But when we lived in Canada, we had a 9' plow for the tractor to clear the snow off the 1/4 mile driveway. DH was glad the tractor cab was heated!

I moved back to Texas so I wouldn't have to shovel anymore. so far, so good!! and yes, i shoveled it before noon. we got tickets if we didn't. seniors too!

Yes, we will snowblow after the snow stops falling...if it's enough to blow initially. But not compulsive about it...more important things to worry about, but have a neighbor who does not "allow" any residual snow on his driveway!

My dh and i moved to a condo so we don't have to bother with it anymore. they shovel right to our doors.

Best money ever spent was when I bought the DH a tractor for his birthday. Our driveway is a 1/4 mile curvy, uphill mess if it snows and we've had the big 4X4 slide down it backwards so needs to be shoveled and I was afraid one of us would have a heart attack trying to keep clear.

DH loves his snowblower. He may not admit it, but he does. He cleans our property in the ally so the trash man walks in not a speck of snow. He cleans the driveway, then wings out both directions so no drifting in again. He's out there forever. My contribution is a big hearty breakfast for him when he finally comes in!

We don't clear our driveway unless the snow gets really heavy - I do sweep a path to walk to vehicles, etc. If the snow gets too bad we just don't go anywhere!

If the first snow fall of the year is 4 to 6 inches, we just drive our vehicles up and down over the next few days to pack it down good. It's good insulation over the ground to prevent the frost from dropping deeper in the ground as the season progresses and causing more problems, frost heaves, broken water pipes, etc.. Weird, huh?! Also, since we have a dirt and rock driveway, it keeps the rocks from getting in your shoe treads and ending up in the house (I hate all those little rocks hiding in the carpet waiting for my vacuum cleaner to come by). If the first snowfall is deeper than that, DH raises the deck on the tractor/snowblower combo and makes sure he's not scrapping the ground.

I moved to a townhome, so that nasty job is taken care of.

When we lived in Ohio, we lived in suburbia, and the driveway was manageble, so we usually kept it shoveled like you. When we lived in Massachusetts, we had 2 driveways and at least one was kept shoveled. In Maine, we lived in the city, and when the city plowed, they created a mountain of snow at the edge of our driveway, and the only way to get in and out of the driveway in the winter was to constantly shovel in conjunction with the plow guys. Now we live in New Hampshire in a mountainous area in the woods and our house is on a hill. We have a plow guy that comes, but we have 4 cars, sometimes 5, and it's an ongoing dance all winter long just moving the cars around and shoveling around where the plow guy missed. And if that weren't enough, we have a long front porch and two front doors and walkways, and then there is the back door and the back porch. We shovel the high traffic areas and put down sand, but it is a huge chore. Our main goal is to prevent accidents and maintain access in and out of the driveway. Orangeroom, if you lived in my house, you would have to quit your job just to be the shoveler that kept everything tidy all the time, because it's nearly impossible. I do admit that I welcome any help that mother nature gives. But if the snow melts, when the slush refreezes, we have a virtual ice skating rink in the driveway, and that can be a small nightmare. However, when it snows here, my yard is like a winter wonderland it is so beautiful! From the perspective of a kid who grew up in the south, I am still in awe of the winter in New England.

we live in the country and drive is 356' of gravel--so we push snow with the tractor is there's enough, otherwise we just drive over it. We do have a high clearance 4wheel drive truck that is needed if snow is very deep---some of the roads drift despite county's efforts due to wind. I do keep the sidewalk and steps clear.

Me? Shovel the stuff??? Not a snowball's chance in.......!! :p :D

Jan in VA

If we get over 2" of snow the schools close - I just let 'Mother' take care of it for me

I'm the kind that would let Mother Nature take it away, but sometimes I swear that SO is all most like "Jumbo" in the cartoon strip "Rose Is Rose". First light dusting, he's ready to fire up the snowblower:)

I'm not compulsive about it but do tend to be a shoveler. When we have snow, DH is usually working so it falls to me. We have a small/short walk from front door to street and to the driveway. I only do the front porch and walks. I just try to keep up with it after every couple of inches simply because lifting more than that gets to be painful. And then there are the plows that pile it back up so I try to keep the access to the street open. But if the snowfall is all overnight...all bets are off. Then I beg the neighbors with commercial property across the street to use their snowblowers, etc. to clear out the walkways. BIL plows the driveway if DH doesn't come through with a plow in the interim.

i am a shoveler we live in the country i shovel the two decks off and the sidewalk and my husband

uses the bobcat to clear the yard. we do it as soon as it quits snowing because we have animals to get too

We live in the country so cleaning snow off the driveway is just a part of life. Hubby has a tractor with a loader and two snowblowers but usually waits till it is done snowing to clean out. I am retired now so don't have to get out every day. If it gets too bad we wait it out until the wind and snow settles down. We don't have livestock anymore so that simplifies the job a lot - just the yard and quarter mile long driveway to clean out. And living in the country a 4-wheel pickup is almost a must.

First, not one snow shovel has been designed or invented that will fit my hands and will be comfortable for me to shovel snow. Therefore, I am excused from the job of shoveling snow.
Husband has a snow plow to clean the snow from his business, but it is really hard to get it to our house, size is the problem. He did once last year, and since our driveway is literally the shortest driveway in our "metropolis" (maybe 3 cars end to end and 4 cars wide), 3 drags and he was done! He said it took him longer to navigate home than it took to drag the driveway, not worth it got him.
My next door neighbor, bless his heart, shovels and then sweeps his driveway. Not a flake is left. I think I saw a flame thrower in his garage yesterday. Can't wait to see that baby in full gear!
Mother Nature brought it and she can take care of it. Besides in our area of Ohio, one day it is 20 degrees and the next day can be 40. Why waste time shoveling when the weather will take care of it, eventually.
I overlook my driveway from my sewing room, it looks lovely with the sun glistening off the icy crust on the snow!

DH keeps the walkway to our front door free of ice and snow if we ever have any. Every few years we may have a day or two of snow. It goes away fast. Sometimes by nightfall on the day it snows.

Shoveling snow????? Oh yah, I think I remember that!! I grew up in Iowa and MN so did my share of shoveling, always kept the driveway and sidewalks clean. Moved to the country and had a .5 mile long drive....yikes!! I have been looking for snow ever since we moved to Florida but have found nothing to shovel yet!! Yes, I do miss the snow, am I crazy??!!!

I always had to shovel for the school kids and the mailman. or get a ticket. and I didn't mind. much!

A true snowbird
 

Maybe you should do the reverse of most people and go north to get your snow break

I grew up in South Carolina, and it didn't snow every year, but when it did, everything shut down. We moved to North Carolina a few years back, and it rarely snowed there. My in-laws had moved from Massachusetts to Florida. They had not seen snow in over a decade. They came to visit us in NC, and a big snowstorm hit. That was the last time they ever saw snow. It was near Christmas, and my mother-in-law was thrilled. She had emphysema and she could only watch from the window, but it made Christmas magical for her that year. It warms my heart just to remember it. I miss them both so much.

i only got to live in the east for nine years, 3 in pensylvania ..our hillside home with horse shoe drive and parking and garden ..all as you describe ..i fell in love. not with having to hike down the drive in afternoon and break the plow berm out w an ax so hubs could get home from work, or the shoveling up hill as i walked in deep snow at side of drive because the ice under the snow was to slick to stand on ...but the yard and the surrounding woods were so breathtakingly beautiful, the snow covered branches decorated with those bright red cardinals ..the icesickles from the maple trees that local taught my son & i to enjoy as a winter bonus treat ...i am still telling friends that hubs drug me kicking & screaming 3000 miles across the country to our next job assignment! :)

We've had three snowstorms in the last week. The first one, I heard a loud noise outside and it was my cross the street neighbor with his tractor and plow doing the driveway. The next day it was my next door neighbor with his snow blower. And yesterday my DH didn't have to work so he shoveled. Good times!

My Drive is also what I call a fat quarter mile and my two neighbors jump at the sight of snow. They both love to plow so I am never in need of doing the long part. I do use a big snow blower for the part near the house. Have to get the garage open so cars can move. A jeep did slide down the hill once when the drive was a sheet of ice. The only thing that stopped it was a huge patch of bamboo at the bottom. :D

I also shovel paths for my little dog to run around on.

Our driveway is 100 plus feet long......we are in our 80's......thank the Lord for snow plow service.

No snow shoveling here. As my friend from Kansas told one of his buddies who asked how he stood the humidity in Houston "You don't have to shovel humidity" :D I am SO NOT a shoveler. I'm with Bneighbor, there is no snow shovel that properly fits my hands for shoveling. I'm happy in the non white, non winterwonderland of SE Texas. I do like to look at the pictures though :o

We have around 20 inches of snow on the ground right now with up to 10 more coming tonight. We get snow almost everyday, sometimes a dusting sometimes a lot. Anyway the Fed-x man ask me today who does my drive way. Told him hubby does it with the snow blower attached to the tractor. He must be retired, I said yes. My yard looks like a WalMart parking lot, nobody going to get stuck here. Some times he is in the tractor 6 plus hours as he does 2 of our neighbors, we each have 300 feet plus driveways.

I am the chief snow shoveler at our place. My husband keeps saying no snowblower here, but he is not the one at the end of the shovel. He can't even get out of the house this winter. Our son uses the big farm tractor and loader but by the steps and garage, he can't get the big farm tractor in there. So for now and I still have the health to do it, I will shovel. If I can't push it, I just take small shovelfuls to carry. Some day, I might just come home with an electric start snow blower.

Hubby tractors snow when it is done falling. I hand shovel walkways every 4 inches of snow fallen. I am obsessive, he is relaxed.

We only snowblow if it is over 4 inches or so. We have a fairly long driveway in the country with a gravel base so set the blower skid about 1 1/2 inches anyway so the rocks don't fly in the grass. Ask me how I know. Right now it is freezing rain and 35 degrees, but the wind chill is supposed to be below zero tomorrow and the roads are icy right now. With snow on top of the ice and wet, it will not be a good combo. Stay safe everyone!

About 8 days ago, we didn't have any snow! Lol! I use the snowblower if there is more than a couple of inches or if the city snowplow fills in the bottom of my driveway(hazard of living on a corner lot and plow comes around corner past my house). I did part of the deck today along with the driveway.

Bitter wind today and temps dropping to 20 below probable tonight will keep me home tomorrow. More sewing time for me that way!

Connie

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We don't get tons of snow here most winters. But we do get a few that need shoveling. Some winters more than others. I am not compulsive about it. But if I don't keep the end of the driveway clear the snowplow throws snow backup on it, the stuff is usually slush that refreezes over night. In the morning it is nearly impossible to get thru. I am the one who shovels our driveway as my DH and son are out plowing others driveways in a huge condo complex.

I am the shoveler here, though today a SIL did it and a grandson called to see if I needed him. Both rare occasions, but appreciated. I really can't lift it, so I push it into rows and use my electric snowthrower to move onto the ever growing piles. It has started and will continue to come daily with N Michigan being cold enough so it rarely melts on its before April. My biggest problem is the stuff the plow leaves at the end of the drive.