Snow Shoveling

It going to happen sooner or later. I do not want it to come about. I don’t want to do it. Yet here it is, and I have no choice but do it. It’s time to get out the shovel and fire up the snow blower, head out into the cold, and clean the snow off the driveway. This as close as I get to playing in the snow these days not like it was when I was a kid.

Back then we would stay out all day sliding and playing in the white stuff till we were soaking wet and half frozen. Than mom would yell at us to come in out of the snow and warm up. She would make us take off our wet things, take a worm bath, and put on dry clothes. After that if we were lucky we would get some hot coco or a bowl of soup (tomato with a toasted cheese sandwich).

Back then the cold did not matter, but now it does. Now I would rather look out my window and enjoy the beauty of it than go out in it. Still the fact remains, the snow is in the driveway and it’s not supposed to be there. It won’t move itself, so I guess I have no choice. It’s time to shovel the snow.

Winter is here.

All those wonderful words are back snow and cold, lake effect, system snow, blowing and drifting. It’s time to turn on the TV and check for school closings and delays. Winter has returned to northern Michigan. The ski resorts have fired up their snow guns and are talking about the earliest start to the season in years. It’s true we get snow this early in the season; it’s just that it usually does not stay. When it comes this early it will be gone in two or three days.

Not this year. This time it feels different. This time it feels like it could stay. Still it does not matter, if it stays or not we have to live with it. Slippery roads put cars in the ditch and most of us just aren’t ready. We’ve lost our hat and gloves and there isn’t a scraper in the car. There is no ice melt for the walk and the snow blower won’t start. Snow may be fun to play in, but as a rule it’s a pain in the butt.
Maybe if I close the curtains and ignore, it will go away. I think bears have the right idea when they sleep through the winter. I think I’ll go back to bed.

Snow on the Roads.

It could be a long winter. The word on the streets is that all the road departments are cutting back. When the storm hits nothing will happen till it is over.
M.D.O.T. has told the county road departments to cut back.

Michigan Department of Transportation tells counties to cut back on snow plowing, salting of roads
by Associated Press
Wednesday November 12, 2008, 7:53 AM
LANSING -- The Michigan Department of Transportation has directed county road commissions to cut back on snow plowing and salting of secondary roads as part of a cost-cutting effort.
The Detroit News reports Wednesday that the directive means road commissions would give high priority to freeways, but would limit less-traveled secondary roads to a single plowing and salting.
MDOT spokesman Bill Shreck says it's basically an effort to reduce overtime as officials also face high salt and fuel prices. He says if a storm is severe, crews will be sent out on overtime to ensure safety.

Winter snow plow priorities shifting?
MDOT tells counties, municipalities to watch their OT
Ludington Daily News
Steve Begnoche - Managing Editor
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Travelers on certain routes in Michigan could see less clear pavement this winter following a change in priorities established by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Among routes now declared priority 2 — for which the state will limit how much overtime it pays contracting counties and municipalities to clear — are U.S. 10 east of Scottville, M-37, M-55, M-22 and U.S. 10 west of U.S. 10-31, including Ludington Avenue, Lakeshore Drive and South James Street. (A related story is in today's Daily News.)
The state is telling its contracting agencies that overtime should be used only during a storm or following a storm, “with a goal of providing a pavement surface generally bare of ice and snow; wide enough for one-wheel track in each direction.”
Any clearing of snow or ice beyond that level should be done only without working overtime, according to the MDOT’s winter level of service definitions.
Mason County Road Commission Managing Director Gary Dittmer said travelers east of Scottville may see a difference this winter, depending on when and if snow falls.
“They will see the center of the road opened up,” he said. “They won’t see bare pavement.”
He noted many east-west routes in northern Michigan are affected based on an MDOT traffic study that shows most traffic is flowing north-south in Michigan in winter.
What it means is we will need to be very careful driving this winter. Secondary roads won’t get done as well as in the past, and places like subdivisions may be very low on the list.

Get out safety gear; Put a box in the car with blankets, food, and a flashlight. Put a shovel in the trunk and make sure you have a working cell phone with you. Always drive carefully. The life you save could be your own.