<p>I give up! I can’t lift another shovel full of snow. It’s so damn heavy! </p>
<p>I did take a very nice walk in the woods with our pup. It was absolutely gorgeous. </p>
<p>Time to warm up and take some tylenol for these sore muscles (from shoveling).</p>
<p>PS–Our front door is snowed shut.</p>
<p>aquamarinesea, you wouldn’t. I have never owned or used a roof rake, even though there are times (like the one I mentioned) where it might have been useful. Ice dams are something that CAN happen, not that always do. The house I had the problem with was a '30s Cape Cod. But it was just that one time, and I lived there over many winters. My next house was an Arts & Crafts style from 1916 (2.5 stories) and I never had a problem in eight years. My current house has a steeply pitched roof and hasn’t had a problem either over the past five years (and we have had some very snowy winters), but that could be because it has excellent insulation. The tendency toward ice dams also has to do with how much sun the property gets, and other factors.</p>
<p>Mcat, you’re getting a special view of New England- jogging when it’s freezing, Nordic wear, special dog issues, raking the roof- and Sue’s great line: as long as you don’t get too close to the edge… gotta love it.
In Maine , I saw a sign tacked to an electric pole for a local guy offering "roofs shoveled. "</p>
<p>lookingfoward, I am interested in knowing how people in New England handle such a severe winter because DS may stay there in the future. Thus, I followed this thread with earnest interest.</p>
<p>Some houses down here (not mine, it is too expensive for me) have metal roof. If a house has the metal roof (often dark green in its color and not reflective, and it looks quite sturdy to me), does it mean the home owner does not have to rake the snow on the roof? (It is not like the people living here have ever had such a need. We rarely have any snow. The problem for us is that the extreme heat in the summer tends to shorten the life of the roof.)</p>
<p>When we lived in the mountains and had a 33 inch snow fall, H dug a tunnel from garage door opening for our Labrador. We all had to stand out there and nag her to get her to go. The second day we threw old bread out for the birds and critters. All of a sudden, she could manage the snow, went flying after those rolls!</p>
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<p>In general, you shouldn’t need to use a roof rake if you have a steeply pitched roof as snow and melting snow should fall off. Our upper roof is moderately sloped and we’ve never had ice dam problems with it.</p>
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<p>I’m using a roof rake to reach a roof on two stories. One roof rake (three metal sections) just about reaches the edge of the roof. I add on up to two additional sections to reach much further up the roof. I can’t do the whole roof with the rake though. I don’t think that adding another section would be wise as the thing is already pretty flexible at five sections. I’m going to do the remaining part of the roof by leaning out of a few windows to move the snow lower. Then I’ll go back out again with the snow rake.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m fairly used to doing this. This is only the second time this season. It’s somewhat tiring physically because I don’t normally do a lot of exercises with my hands above shoulder level for long periods of time.</p>
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He had his sister out there doing this while he ran the snow blower. You have to clear out space first to have room to knock it down.</p>
<p>If it is not too high over the front, I just plow through it, and the high stuff falls to the ground. Then I go back over it to pick it up. It’s pretty slow going.</p>
<p>When I did my neighbor’s driveway this afternoon there were parts that I had to knock down with a shovel because it drifted so high. If it gets too high over the top it can block the thrower chute and the motor exhaust.</p>
<p>After snow-blowing two driveways and shoveling my front walkway, I am spent. I think it is beer-o’clock. :D</p>
<p>The issue is removing the weight of the snow, right? And preventing an avalanche on your head as the roof warms and loosens it, I think.</p>
<p>Mcat, we don’t rake ours. People make a lifestyle choice- work outside (utility, police, delivery, etc,) or play, jog or ski. Some commit to indoors and just bundle up when they have to go out. Or bundle up inside- I’ve had some cold offices. You get used to things. We also gripe a lot about weather, as if it is a surprise. Then we fuss about how we fuss. I dislike the worst of summer more.</p>
<p>bceagle91–</p>
<p>Thanks for explaining your roof rake technique to me. A couple of years ago, we got over 3 feet of snow. We ended up with a minor ice dam which didn’t cause too much damage. I have never heard of anyone around here using a roof rake.</p>
<p>Whenever we have a snowstorm, we have to be very careful to avoid icicles that fall off the gutters. They can be quite dangerous when they fall from 2-3 stories up.</p>
<p>I bet there are going to be a lot of people with achy muscles tonight and tomorrow. Take it easy!</p>
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<p>I think the weather is a major reason why so many people from the northeast and other regions with harsh winters (i.e. Minnesota) end up retiring somewhere warm. Or they become “snowbirds.” Have you ever been to Florida during the winter and noticed there are hundreds of license plates from Minnesota?</p>
<p>I’ve only cleaned part of the roof once and that was a few years ago when we had snow after snow after snow and I got spooked by a wave of roof collapses. I climbed out on the porch roof and shoveled it off. There’s a big drift hanging off part of the roof now but there’s no way to reach it without a 30+ foot ladder. It will fall. </p>
<p>Our driveway is a combination of drifts and piles where we’ve moved snow off the cars. (We rent spaces to neighbors.) I’ve only seen one non-Town plow. The first got stuck several times cleaning out a parking lot behind the houses across the street. Two town plows came through a while ago and peeled the snow back to the curb … on the far side of the street. I am hopeful they’re done with my street and won’t create a wall at the end of my driveway. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>I shoveled off the deck and spread birdseed all over it and on the snow I threw because it was firm enough that the seeds didn’t sink. I then shoveled off the side steps. Then the front sidewalk. Then the front walk. Then I shoveled out my car, which was encased in a drift. That took a lot of work. Then I cut a path from the side door to the back door. Then I dug out my wife’s car, which was the most work because I had to lift the snow to head height to get it out. Then I cut a path to the street from the side door. The last was a kind of vanity; I wanted to do it so I did. I know I did over 200 linear feet plus the cars, steps and deck. Took over 2 hours of steady work. </p>
<p>One of my parkers is supposed to fly out tonight but even if the airport is open the odds are she can’t get there. The cab company says they can’t commit and the T isn’t running at all today. </p>
<p>We let one of the cats out. He’s a hardy, courageous sort. He stood on the deck for a while and then stepped off … as though he was walking on solid ground. Fell right through on to his face, but being a cat he hopped up and plowed and jumped his way off into the trees. He came back 30 minutes later. </p>
<p>While I was out front, the first people emerged. Dog walkers of course. And an old Chinese couple who walk every day no matter what. Well over half of all the people I saw were either speaking another language - I heard German and Dutch and something else I couldn’t identify - or were speaking with a European accent. Lots of kids dragging sliding stuff down to the school where there’s a little hill. One guy working a snow board up the street, which means slightly up hill. One of my neighbors stopped and said, “It looks like Russia.” </p>
<p>I took a hot shower and a pill for my arthritis and lay down on the bed under my electric blanket to loosen my muscles. That was great except the cat weaseled his way on to the warm blanket until I was pushed into a ball. Darn cat. Now he wants to go out again. </p>
<p>The drifts were nearly waist deep and crusty on top but fluffy underneath. The cars were plastered so hard with snow it formed an ice layer.</p>
<p>I love snow, and I missed it so much ever since I moved to NYC. So, I am very excited by all the snow, even though my weekend trip got cancelled due to it. </p>
<p>Doggy and I went for a walk on unwalked snow at 4:00 in he morning. Then, I sledded in the afternoon, and I am taking doggy sledding later tonight :)</p>
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<p>And many people in New England wonder how people in the south handle the heat and humidity of summers. I think there are very few places in the country that don’t have weather extremes. When it’s extremely cold and snowy you stay home (unless you ski/skate), but usually you can enjoy the outdoors if you dress warmly enough and have the right shoes/boots. It’s just as hard to do outdoor activities when it’s 95+ degrees and very humid.</p>
<p>Semi-big snowstorm just blew through the northern Midwest yesterday. Ice, snow, winds and drifts, and poorly maintained roads. Pretty much all primary and secondary schools were closed, and a lot of colleges and universities closed along with professors canceling classes in those that weren’t.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing-people rarely talk about the positive side of severe winter events. One you’re seeing right here, the camaraderie of a shared experience. People get hyped up for the storm together, gather during the event itself, and share resources in its aftermath. One of my neighbors invited all her nearby friends for an impromptu snow party. We were all invited to walk because of the driving ban. The only reason I didn’t go is because my daughter was having her own little snow party sleepover with a friend and we were making s’mores. Today we saw all our neighbors out shoveling and snowplowing, many of us helping each other.</p>
<p>Shoveling snow is hard work, but in the end it feels good, like working out, skiing or taking a jog. You come in from the cold feeling achy but virtuous.</p>
<p>Severe weather forces you to slow down. There’s no place to go, so what’s the rush? Northeasterners tend to be wound a little tight so any excuse to relax and watch the snow fall is good. Right now I’m sitting in front of a roaring fire, taking a break from rereading Wuthering Heights. I’d been meaning to get back to WH for years, but it’s only today, stuck at home, that I set about it. I’d forgotten what a pushy ■■■■■■■ Mr. Lockwood is!</p>
<p>It took DH two and a half hours to clear the driveway with a snow blower. And that doesn’t count the extra time it took to clear out the bottom of the driveway from the snow pushed there by the town snow plow that finally came through at 3:30. He’ll have to make another pass with the snow blower tomorrow to remove the snow that blows back over the driveway.</p>
<p>S1, in Boston, is supposed to be flying out of Logan tomorrow morning. Even if the airport is open by then, his plane may never have been positioned there. </p>
<p>Good news: The broken tree limb we were hoping would finally fall has done that. It didn’t happen during the snowstorm itself, but this afternoon, probably when the wind whipped up.</p>
<p>Wow Lergnom, i feel like i was there!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID X2 using CC</p>
<p>Sue22, the “shared experience” is one of the things I have loved most about living in the midwest all these years. Winter definitely brings out the best in people. Weather is a great equalizer in “hostile” climates such as ours. We check on our neighbors, help each other shovel, share food and firewood, and push stuck cars up hills. And we all celebrate the first unexpectedly warm days and smile more when the sun comes out. It’s nice.</p>
<p>Totally agree, Sue. All 4 families at this end were out. People talk to each other at the mkt: abt the weather. Neighbor’s dau’s bf borrowed our shovel, then he did part of our walk, in return. Families will keep their kids’ friends for days, if they’re visiting then get caught by a storm.<br>
We also have hurricane parties.</p>
<p>One of my neighbors I barely know, saw me outside all day trying to make a dent (hubby was held at work) and he came by a few hours ago and said he’d help tomorrow with his snow blower (ours is broken) I was so exhausted I could barely say thank you and I think I teared up for a second. If he needs a roof rake, he can have mine. ; )</p>