Saturday, February 09, 2008

No snow, just ice

I didn't have much on the agenda today. I had one small project and two minor tasks to accomplish. Nothing that would take much time, just a little effort.

First was the project: Move the mound of snow I had placed in front of the garage. This wouldn't take long but would require picking up the snow and walking 10 feet to find a place to put it. Or so I thought. It had snowed again on Friday night, a wet snow. This made the mound heavy, but the snow compact. I could jam the shovel in and bring up a nice hunk of snow. Then walk down the sidewalk to an area that isn't too high and dump it. But the boulders got smaller and I then thought I could heave or catapult it over the fence into the yard. Then smaller loads would go to the other side. There was really no rhyme nor reason to where I was going with the snow. I must have looked like a madman out there, tossing snow over the fence, on the snowbank, pants falling down a bit showing some ass crack. Yeah, I was out there commando. I stopped the catapult action when one chunk smashed into the tenants car. I let out a sinister laugh and finished up.

Next was replacing the light in the garage. Again, easy task, but the cover on the light wouldn't come off. I tried to hang off the truck and open the cover but that wasn't happening. One side wouldn't budge. So I had to move a vehicle out, get the ladder and climb up. Since I had planned to move the car to the other side of the garage- task 3- I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.

I back the truck out and go get the ladder. The ladder is in the front reception area of the house off of the living room. Still there from when I was painting. Earlier in the week I figured I could grab the ladder and go out the front door and around. That would be easier than walking through the house. But that wet snow had put a nice ice glaze on the front porch steps* so there was no way I was going out there. I made my way through the house and out the icy back steps. There are fewer and it was easier to navigate.

Go into garage, cover comes off easier this time (bastard!) and light bulb comes on.

Next, I had to move the Mustang to the other side of the garage. No problem. Back it out and pull in on the other side. Uh...no. I just about got stuck. Yeah, icy steps also mean icy driveway. As the wheels spun, I thought it was a sick joke. To back out 6 feet and get stuck in my own driveway. I let the pony do the work and found myself back in the garage. And no, it wasn't like the back wheels hit a dry surface and sling shotted me through the back of the garage. Not quite at least. I did leave two nice groves in the snow. Kinda neat looking.

Now I can eat some breakfast and veg out. There will be no more shoveling, just surviving the deep freeze that is to hit today. Fun.

*There is no salt in the state of Wisconsin that I can put down to melt the ice on the sidewalks. None. A contractor I know just paid 4xs the price at the beginning of the season to have salt trucked in from Cincinnati. Yet I am tempted to grab the container of Mortons from the pantry and sprinkle it on the steps.

No comments: