The Blizzard of 2022: A journal
The Blizzard of 2022, as I write this in the late afternoon of the first day of the storm (Saturday, Jan. 29), has lived up to its hype, dropping upwards of nearly 2 feet so far on many parts of the Attleboro area, according to various reports, including from The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA.
Here's one person's Blizzard Journal, from Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, followed by an aftermath:
*********
DAY 1: AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY
Early-morning hours to about 10:30 a.m. --- I look outside several times and by 10:30, with the storm really ramping up, I decide to start this snow day in earnest and venture outside.
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. --- I find about 6 inches of snow on my walkway, and I shovel it as the winds intensify and whiteout conditions are starting to take hold. Despite not seeing a plow since about 2:30 a.m., when they did a sweep of my cul-de-sac, I try to walk-jog on the cul-de-sac.
Big mistake!
It was slow going doing the quarter-mile heading out, but conditions turned impossible heading back --- so much so that I didn't try to do another lap. Despite wearing a face-covering and bundled up with several layers, the fierce headwinds blowing the snow made it tough to navigate my way back, and I found myself walking on people's lawns two to three times as I fought to stay on the street.
I shovel the walk for the second time in a half-hour and the snow is coming down so furiously that it seemed as if I had never shoveled.
About noon --- The plows rumble down the street again.
A short time later, I go outside to shovel a spot on my lawn for Buddy, our dog, to do his morning business. The front steps and walkway are covered again, but I do my best to clear the latest snow from them.
About 2:30 p.m. --- News breaks that former Patriots QB and current Bucs QB Tom Brady is retiring, a report that two hours later is denied by Tom Brady Sr. Stay tuned to learn the fate of TB12.
Close to 4 p.m. --- I go out for the fourth time to shovel and the steps and walkway look they never had been shoveled. I also shovel another spot for Buddy to do his business, and he wastes no time in taking advantage of my latest handiwork with the shovel.
This time, I also shovel a path from the walkway, to the driveway and the street and the snow is well above my knees, which means we got at least 2 feet so far.
The snow is also at least 2 feet deep in front of my mail box and Sun Chronicle newspaper box and near the fire hydrant that I share with my neighbor. I shovel around the hydrant before heading back in again.
One oddity is that neither my car nor my wife's has a ton of snow on them due to the direction of the wind.
Around 5 p.m. --- The plows come by yet again in a valiant attempt to keep up with what's proving to be a monster storm. My wife and I are grateful that North Attleboro has enough plow drivers to keep the streets properly plowed.
It will be a long, impossible day tomorrow as the "Big Dig" begins in earnest.
DAY 2: LOTS OF SHOVELING PAYS OFF
10:30 a.m. --- Finish cleaning off steps and walkway and part of driveway.
11 a.m. --- Do a mile of walking-jogging on the cul-de-sac before returning to shoveling duties. It's tough going as more than 2 feet of snow are behind my wife's car on the main driveway and I have a ton of snow behind my car in my side parking spot.
Noon --- Go inside to change into my tall boots and warm up my feet a bit. Continue shoveling behind my driveway as my wife brings out our electric shovel as well, as we team up to get rid of the snow behind her car. After that situation is under control, I shift to my parking space and after a half-hour or so, I have enough snow removed to move my car on the street so I can clean out more snow from the space. With my wife's help, I now have ample room to open the car door and to walk around my car.
1 p.m. --- The job is finished for now after we remove the snow from in front of our mailbox and my neighbor's, which the plow dumped there in addition to all of the snow that had fallen there --- and that was after my neighbor evidently snow-blowed a lot of it from behind there last night. There's still more snow to clear, and the whole driveway beckons, but the warmer weather that's expected later in the week may help that effort.
DAY 3: THE AFTERMATH
I spent about 40 minutes on Monday (Jan. 31) shoveling a pretty good path down by driveway that will allow me to bring up the trash and recycling bins. ... Found out on Tuesday that trash service in North Attleboro was canceled on Monday, pushing service the rest of the week back a day all week. .... Have to do some more shoveling later in the week before rain and a wintry mix arrive Thursday night into Friday.
Here's one person's Blizzard Journal, from Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, followed by an aftermath:
*********
DAY 1: AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY
Early-morning hours to about 10:30 a.m. --- I look outside several times and by 10:30, with the storm really ramping up, I decide to start this snow day in earnest and venture outside.
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. --- I find about 6 inches of snow on my walkway, and I shovel it as the winds intensify and whiteout conditions are starting to take hold. Despite not seeing a plow since about 2:30 a.m., when they did a sweep of my cul-de-sac, I try to walk-jog on the cul-de-sac.
Big mistake!
It was slow going doing the quarter-mile heading out, but conditions turned impossible heading back --- so much so that I didn't try to do another lap. Despite wearing a face-covering and bundled up with several layers, the fierce headwinds blowing the snow made it tough to navigate my way back, and I found myself walking on people's lawns two to three times as I fought to stay on the street.
I shovel the walk for the second time in a half-hour and the snow is coming down so furiously that it seemed as if I had never shoveled.
About noon --- The plows rumble down the street again.
A short time later, I go outside to shovel a spot on my lawn for Buddy, our dog, to do his morning business. The front steps and walkway are covered again, but I do my best to clear the latest snow from them.
About 2:30 p.m. --- News breaks that former Patriots QB and current Bucs QB Tom Brady is retiring, a report that two hours later is denied by Tom Brady Sr. Stay tuned to learn the fate of TB12.
Close to 4 p.m. --- I go out for the fourth time to shovel and the steps and walkway look they never had been shoveled. I also shovel another spot for Buddy to do his business, and he wastes no time in taking advantage of my latest handiwork with the shovel.
This time, I also shovel a path from the walkway, to the driveway and the street and the snow is well above my knees, which means we got at least 2 feet so far.
The snow is also at least 2 feet deep in front of my mail box and Sun Chronicle newspaper box and near the fire hydrant that I share with my neighbor. I shovel around the hydrant before heading back in again.
One oddity is that neither my car nor my wife's has a ton of snow on them due to the direction of the wind.
Around 5 p.m. --- The plows come by yet again in a valiant attempt to keep up with what's proving to be a monster storm. My wife and I are grateful that North Attleboro has enough plow drivers to keep the streets properly plowed.
It will be a long, impossible day tomorrow as the "Big Dig" begins in earnest.
DAY 2: LOTS OF SHOVELING PAYS OFF
10:30 a.m. --- Finish cleaning off steps and walkway and part of driveway.
11 a.m. --- Do a mile of walking-jogging on the cul-de-sac before returning to shoveling duties. It's tough going as more than 2 feet of snow are behind my wife's car on the main driveway and I have a ton of snow behind my car in my side parking spot.
Noon --- Go inside to change into my tall boots and warm up my feet a bit. Continue shoveling behind my driveway as my wife brings out our electric shovel as well, as we team up to get rid of the snow behind her car. After that situation is under control, I shift to my parking space and after a half-hour or so, I have enough snow removed to move my car on the street so I can clean out more snow from the space. With my wife's help, I now have ample room to open the car door and to walk around my car.
1 p.m. --- The job is finished for now after we remove the snow from in front of our mailbox and my neighbor's, which the plow dumped there in addition to all of the snow that had fallen there --- and that was after my neighbor evidently snow-blowed a lot of it from behind there last night. There's still more snow to clear, and the whole driveway beckons, but the warmer weather that's expected later in the week may help that effort.
DAY 3: THE AFTERMATH
I spent about 40 minutes on Monday (Jan. 31) shoveling a pretty good path down by driveway that will allow me to bring up the trash and recycling bins. ... Found out on Tuesday that trash service in North Attleboro was canceled on Monday, pushing service the rest of the week back a day all week. .... Have to do some more shoveling later in the week before rain and a wintry mix arrive Thursday night into Friday.
Comments
Post a Comment