The big winter storm....

[electra225]

Have all you guys out East survived the big winter storm?

[Motorola minion]

In S-central PA, only got 4 inches Friday, sleet all weekend, icy mush to start the week. Like last year, most big stuff goes around us this season.

[walyfd]

Not much in NEPA. Poconos got hit worse. It sure was heavy to shovel. My electric snow blower crapped out.

[electra225]

If your electric snow blower crapped out, it's obvious you didn't lose power. That's the worst part of a big storm. You can get by better if you have power. Glad to hear you guys are okay. The upper midwest, (Michigan?) is supposed to get it next. I don't miss that much.

[Firedome]

We got 9" here, and our house is small but the driveway isn't, 100" much of it double width. I couldn't live here without becoming one with my snowblower much of the year. I left my big 8 hp 46" job in VT with our #1 son when we moved here, the 5 hp 42" we got does a good job here, he needs that big one more that we do! It hit 40 today so all the remnants on the driveway melted and it's all nice and dry... for now.

[electra225]

I've never owned a snow blower. I had a tractor with a rear blade. I moved a lot of snow with it.

[William]

It is cold here today. Winds from the NW and it's snowing. Not sure how much we are to get, I guess I will find out in the morning. I keep looking to the future. You know, SPRING!

Bill

[TC Chris]

Michigan misses much of the really bad stuff because of the buffering effect of the Great Lakes. They are huge heat sinks, so we have much more moderate temperature extremes--cooler in summer, warmer in winter. We also have lake effect snow, the result of west winds picking up moisture as they pass over the lake, with the wind rising over land and cooling so the moisture condenses out as snow. So, typically and pre-climate-change, more snow but fewer really grim temps. My brother who lives in WY and much greater temperature swings and a whole lot less snow.

Modern forecasting gives us about one Storm of the Century a month these days. They get attention when they warn of imminent death. But when you look behind the adjectives you can figure out how to prepare. Now that my commute to work is three miles, I have resolved to drive the truck when the temps are going to be below 20 or the snowfall more than 2". It's just too much work biking that distance in bad conditions. The fingers freeze; the eyes run; it's not so much fun. So this a.m. I drove. And then nothing much happened. But when I got in the truck to drive home it was 19 degrees and the wind was howling from the NW so I was glad I was in the truck.

I have hand-shoveled my snow all my life. The current challenge is mostly from the snowplow, which pushes a snow ridge onto my parking area in the alley. It can be heavy going. My boss lives just down the alley, and her husband bought a fancy new snow blower. To work off the guilt of paying so much, he blows out my driveway and a couple others. I have not objected. In fact, when coming home after a weekend away, I'm always secretly hoping that he has cleared the driveway.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I would plow out all the neighbors, particularly the ones that I knew had to go to work, or ones with medical conditions. I never charged a dime and never got anything, either. No matter. I got some valuable "seat time" on the old Fergie and had a good time.

[Firedome]

I do our 83 yr old widower neighbor next door when it's more that a dusting. I find a big leaf blower can move up to 2" of powder v quickly, and we get lake-effect powder all the time as we're just East of Lake Ontario. Buffalo and the Tug Hill plateau just N of Syracuse are infamous, over 100" have happened inside a week in the latter, it can be insane, At SUNY Oswego they have ropes that go from building to building, it can sometimes reach the 2nd story and they'll close down to clean out.

The advantage of a snowblower is it throws it well back into the yard from the cleared area, that can be an advantage after several big storms where you have difficulty finding a place to put it, by the end of Feb it's a real problem. It's also great for going thru the huge ridge the town snow plows make at the end of the driveway. We had 41 inches in 1 storm before Christmas 2020, it took 3 days to get it all cleaned up. It was so deep that the outlet chute on the snowblower was under the drifts, so the wife had to go first to take off the top 12" or so so I could get it through. Even with a snowblower it can take over 2 hrs to clean up a 10" snow, a lot of hand shoveling is still needed to clean up porches, steps, and tight places the blower can't get to. After living in VT for 10 yrs we were used to cold and snow but It's stuff like this that has us thinking a winter place in FL sometimes, luckily wife's sister lives on a beautiful FL key so we go visit her for a while every winter, last week in Feb is already booked.

[William]

I use a snow blower for the same reason, Roger. I like to get it as far away from the edge of the driveway as possible. My drive is "L" shaped, which I hate. It's a pain in the butt to move the snow with a blower with the house being close to the drive on one side. The driveway going to the road is on the other side so you blow where you still need to blow. I usually blow ahead, but, that requires backing up all the time. I would never recommend a driveway like mine.

My neighbor lady across the street is also 83, and, I will do her driveway on occasion. I usually get yelled at when I do it. She always tells me that she is perfectly capable of blowing her own driveway. She says she needs the exercise. But, after she gets done yelling at me she always says thank you.

Bill

[walyfd]

My neighbor across the street would pay everyone on the street to dig us out! She loves yard work! I think she cleaned 4 houses on Monday.

I remember the winter of '96 when it seemed like we got a storm every other day... there was 124 inches of snow at the one rural cemetery... we had burials backed up to July that year...

[electra225]

My wife has mobility issues, so I was in fear of her falling on slick surfaces. Clearing snow and driving to work in it, got to be more than we wanted. After I got over the cancer routine, we decided we would head back to warmer climate for the winter. We bought this place for a winter retreat, then decided to ditch the bad weather, and bugs, and weeds, and junk, and stay out here permanently. It' s a double-edged sword. Out here we have traffic, high gas prices, and people everywhere, some of whom have atrocious manners. It's six of one, half a dozen of the other. You just pick your poison.

[Firedome]

We've thought about AZ and FL, but I hate big cities. Son #2's former GF lived in Scottsdale. now Mesa, nice areas but way too crowded for me, a town of about 50-75k seems about right. I hear Prescott is nice, but expensive. Son #2 and Daughter #1 now live in Denver, lots of sun, but still cold at times, and waaaaay too crowded, 3 million in the metro area!

[William]

Prescott is beautiful, and, more like a midsize city. As far as expensive, I doubt it's any more money than Phoenix or all of the connecting areas around Phoenix. Scottsdale would be the exception, that city is high end. Personally, I like AZ. I would love to be there right now, and, I usually would be leaving this month for that state. There is a couple of health issues I need to address first. With Covid running ramped in my area in Michigan it's a lengthy process getting in to see doctors and having tests done. I may be here this winter.

Bill

[TC Chris]

I find a big leaf blower can move up to 2" of powder v quickly, and we get lake-effect powder all the time as we're just East of Lake Ontario. Buffalo and the Tug Hill plateau just N of Syracuse are infamous, over 100" have happened inside a week in the latter, it can be insane, At SUNY Oswego they have ropes that go from building to building, it can sometimes reach the 2nd story and they'll close down to clean out.

All of our moisture that evaporates here lands on you folks far to the east! We're in Goldilocks zone here to the west of you. Not too much, not too little, just enough. I did drive to work again today. 15 degrees when I left, 15 degrees when I got home, barometer almost pegged at the top. For us, that's cold. And on the bicycle it's really cold. Maybe I'll try the bike tomorrow.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

It's actually cheaper to live here in paradise than it did in junk heaven in Missouri. Our light bill is less, our car insurance is less (no deer) our home insurance is less (we have a full-time fire department instead of volunteer). Cable/phone/internet bundle is less. Gas is higher. Some groceries higher, some lower. Strangely, milk here is a dollar a gallon less than in Missouri. You have to watch not to run over a cow on your way to work in Missouri, and there isn't a cow within 50 miles of here. Citrus is higher here than in Missouri. Somebody is always bringing their extra citrus to work, begging somebody to take some off their hands. If you can stand an HOA, this is the better place to live if you don't want all the weeds, bugs and junk. The HOA is sending out nasty letters reminding people not to park on the street. Good luck with that. Their garages are full of "stuff" with no room for their vehicle.

[Firedome]

No weeds, bugs, or junk here, it's the original home of IBM, 15,000 highly paid folks once worked here, so lots of very nice housing and suburbs, quiet and clean, all built up in the '50s to '70s. Downtown Bingo, not as much, no appeal there for me.

As for AZ my concern in general is for the water situation, clearly it can only get much worse, same for NV, CA (Palm Springs is appealing) and other Western states. LA has now started enforcing "water budgets" by cutting off or fining non-compliant households and I guarantee that this will become widespread in the West before long, it has to:

https://www.ladwpnews.com/ladwp-to-begi ... ter-users/

There's a great book "Cadillac Desert" on the water situation in the West that I read 20 yrs ago, everything he said then
has come true:

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/cadillac- ... on=2344715

Fl has it's own issues, and you gotta know where to go, but in most areas water isn't one of them except flood prone coastal areas, much of it isn't unless you're right on the water, and the climate is great 6-7 months of the year. We like the West coast of FL on the Gulf, nice and far from Miami.

Phoenix is way too big, and HOAs just ain't gonna happen, period!
My sister did like Tuscon (Green Valley) when she lived there.

[electra225]

We lived in Phoenix for 23 years then moved to the lake house in Missouri so I could be closer to cancer doctors in KC and Tulsa. The lake house was great for a summer retreat, but wasn't all that satisfactory for living full time. There were no building codes, no HOA's. Everybody worked on the honor system. When we first moved there, the older people were all still alive and they pretty much respected their neighbors. As they died off, younger, "city" people bought those properties and had the attitude they could go to the lake and let their hair down. They let their dogs and kids run loose, kids ran around on souped-up golf carts, loud music, drinking, fighting and using foul language all hours. Nothing you could do. They hauled their junk cars and boats to the lake, out of the city, where they had an HOA. The cops wouldn't come out unless somebody committed an assault or shot somebody. They didn't take care of their places, so the weeds and junk just accumulated. I'm not a fan of an HOA. I'd love to not have to deal with their silliness. But, nobody's dog runs loose, the sheriff's department is good about watching our area, people have services who take care of their properties. Yeah, there's too many people, but you can't blame them. They like it here as well as I do. As long as people mind their manners, it's okay. Knotheads live everywhere, so we didn't escape them. We're just glad to be "back home". We'll work out the details as we go......

[danrclem]

We got an inch of snow here at the most. I don't go very many places since I've retired so it wouldn't have mattered much (to me anyway) if we had got a big snow.

I've got a blade for my tractor but don't use it much for snow unless it's pretty deep.