Deep

Chienne and I cocked our heads to the left as the garage door rumbled open and we beheld what was outside. She looked up at me and I glanced down at her, smiling at her expression of confusion, and patted her head.

"Wow, huh?" I asked and she turned her attention to our neighborhood, fully blanketed in snow. That part is not unusual. It's the part where it's taller than my dog and well past my knees when we stand inside and stare, somewhat bewildered.

I looked at the snowblower, red and happily waiting to be started, and decided the machine was not tall enough to handle the high drifts of snow. So I grabbed the shovel I rarely use and experimentally poked at the fluffy white mound nearest to me, tossing it aside and blinking as the gusting winds created a giant cloud of fluff. I tried again, accomplishing the partial clearing of approximately a square foot before following the dog in the house.

I closed the garage and emailed Doug, asking if he might have some time to rescue me from the snow that surrounds my house. Then I did some work. And took a nap.

Feeling guilty because my responsible neighbors were dutifully clearing their drives and sidewalks, I emerged once again and started the snowblower. Once I coaxed it through the first stripe, it was somewhat easier. So I chipped away at the snow, 6 inch columns at a time, and was delightfully proud until I reached the street and was unable to tackle the drift at the end of the drive.

Deciding I'd deal with it later, I had the drive mostly complete before I decided to take another break and decide on my plan of attack.

After some strategic shoveling and brute force shoves of the snowblower, I managed to stumble into the street and did a victorious wiggle in celebration. Then I shoveled and blew until I thought my Jeep could probably get out if it had to. It might have to hold its breath and suck in its sides, but it's feasible.

Then I looked at the sidewalks. Or rather the snow where the sidewalks should be. And I tried to make progress with the snowblower. And got stuck. And tried to shovel. And got tired.

So I came in. Emailed Doug again. And reported that I did the driveway! But could he maybe help me with the sidewalks?