A physical activity I no longer do

[indysteel]

Yeah; we have leaf raking, too. Typically about 10-12 hours worth. I love our yard though; it's worth it. Thankfully, our town offers curbside pick up. We don't need to bag them or anything. DH and I use a big tarp to haul them from the backyard to the curb. It's a bit of a pain, but at least it's something we do together.

[ny biker]

When we had two blizzards in one week, I learned that it's easier to shovel snow for 5 hours than it is to ride a bike for 5 hours.

I live in a condo but still have to shovel around my car. Then I wind up shoveling around other people's cars because it's unreserved parking and I know I will get stuck with the worst space when I leave and come back again.

[shootingstar]

I only have memories of shovelling several times per week the driveway, etc. when I was a teenager from ages 11 -21 yr. Included chopping the ice, to make things safe, accessible.

We had to do this..mother too busy with housework and father worked evening shift until from 5:00 pm 1:00am...then he had to sleep for a few hrs. in afternoon. He had to get the car into the driveway in early hrs. of the morning.

I don't live in the suburbs, so I don't know if teens regularily shovel snow these days. Or maybe they take pauses to check their ipod..

[Norse]

Shovel snow - yes.
Snowblow - yes.
Battle ice dams - yes.

Rake leaves - no. It's just too much. We live in a neighborhood that is practically a forest. Had to have a service come out 4 times this fall, and each time the yard was coated in leaves. Different trees drop at different times.

[Irulan]

so I don't know if teens regularily shovel snow these days. Or maybe they take pauses to check their ipod..

Nope, at least not that I know of. I grew up in Chicago where it was a regular occurrence to have a teen show up at the front door with a shovel and "shovel your walk for a few bucks?".

You'd think with the dumps we get around here that it would be easy money for an enterprising teen. In twenty years here in the PNW I've not seen it once, even in our biggest snows.

[Reesha]

Indeed. I hate hate hate it when the snowplow guy leaves this thick layer of snow. It's just peachy for maybe two days, then it impacts into rutted ice which is hell to bike over, and it doesn't melt until May. Can't he just plow it properly in the first place!

I like shovelling snow. And I'm good at it too Our driveway is just perfect when I've been at it, not so much when my teenage son does it, though I appreciate the effort!

That's interesting... when I was in Sweden for two weeks in March of 2010, I was surprised to discover that everyone had studded tires and pretty much all the roads that weren't highways or town-to-town were just left with snow and ice on them. It was up to the people to drive sanely, not the government to clean them off perfectly. So many people don't know how to deal with snow and ice in the USA and it frustrates me.

I miss the snow, outdoor speed skating in Lake Placid, cross-country skiing, sledding and yes even SHOVELING. Winter in LP was magic. The very best!

[roadie gal]

Our driveway is 350 ft long, so no snowblower for us. But we have to shovel the berm that the city plow leaves every time it snows. I swear the city plow waits until the driveways are all done then they go by and do the streets, leaving huge, rock-like berms for us to clear by hand.

Just for grins, another picture from last winter. This is our driveway in mid March. The car is parked about halfway down the driveway, facing the street.

[Irulan]

You must be in Tahoe.
Our city plow drivers will lift the blade so there's no berm if you flag your driveway. Most people around here with drives that long use a ATV/Gator with a plow, or hire a plow guy.

We get lots of blowing/drifting here. So, sometimes even if they plow, the wind fills everything in. We've had drifts so high that we could walk up on top of our house.

[indysteel]

Our driveway is 350 ft long, so no snowblower for us. But we have to shovel the berm that the city plow leaves every time it snows. I swear the city plow waits until the driveways are all done then they go by and do the streets, leaving huge, rock-like berms for us to clear by hand.

Just for grins, another picture from last winter. This is our driveway in mid March. The car is parked about halfway down the driveway, facing the street.

Oh my goodness. I will never complain about shoveling ever again.

[Owlie]

Holy cow.

I haven't done much snow-shoveling the last couple years, because I've been in dorms/apartment complexes when the heavy snow falls, where I don't have a driveway or sidewalk to shovel. I do, however, do it at home if I happen to be there when it snows.

[goldfinch]

After my spouse had a hand injury I did all the snowblowing and shoveling.

Then I became a snowbird.

[Irulan]

After my spouse had a hand injury I did all the snowblowing and shoveling.

Then I became a snowbird.

We bought ours the fall DH had a horrible bike accident and was very seriously laid up. That December we got 5 feet in a week and there was a run on them at the stores.... and we were all set. I feel really burly when I put on the carhartts and fire that sucker up.

[shootingstar]

I don't recall disliking leaf raking but it's been so long. I loved the fall time to do it. And definitely I would prefer to rake leaves for 1-2 hrs. vs. shovelling snow.

One thing for certain, those leaf blowers are a polluting, noisy monsters.

Wow, some big massive piles in some of these areas. Roadgirl I think there were snow drifts like that in suburbs last winter. But normally that depth isn't until one gets into the mountains for our area. The snow just blows around alot more because of flat prairie..which can be serious in high winds.

[spokewench]

Not too bad - 3 inches heavy wet snow last night when I came in; just getting ready to go shovel looks like about 4 inches this morning to get out. Thank you snow plow driver, doesn't look like you bermed me in too bad!