Huh.
I was about to say yippee as this afternoon I had seen the expected snowfall had been scaled back to 20cm max - although the blizzard warning was still there.
But I just checked and it's back to 30cm.

But I don't think they know how to count here...they regularly say 10cm, and it's halfway up the garage door....

We don't have any temperature above zero forecast until 28th of the month.

Been going about 10 hours so far. Apart from the dusting on the fir tree, the back yard doesn't look much different. That part of the deck visible yesterday is pretty much still visible.

Different story at the front.

It's been really heavy here. We've shoveled three times today but it's still past my knees, and they think there will be another 20 cms by morning.

You were all correct by the way, my little Torro snow thrower which you all said would be too lightweight for our snow, was too lightweight for our snow It was great for light dustings...but it's little engine couldn't cope. For next year we will have to buy a proper snow blower, they look so complicated though.

I don't fancy using one either. Aside from operating and maintaining the thing (and getting gas) I'd have to keep it in the garage which is at the back of a long drive. We don't need to keep the whole drive clear, just the front part. We don't drive, just need it for taxi space for MrsB and wheelchair and unloading groceries upon return.

So I'd have to either clamber through the snow, or shovel it out the way between the back of the house and garage and then shovel clear the part in front the garage doors to be able to get in.

At this point I'll have used more energy than if I was just doing the front section.

Then I'd have to snowblow a path the length of the drive, just to get to the area where I'd want the snow cleared from.

Of course it would be massively helpful for clearing away the city plow ridge.

But all that effort used in just getting to the important part really doesn't seem worth it while there's a guy who plows it to the back of the drive for $25 a time.

This has been an exceptional winter (I'm hoping) and I've probably used him 6 or 7 times. Less than $200. The norm would be more like $125 a winter. Not convinced a thou for a snowblower is worth it for me.

Of course, the plow option only works if you don't need the back end of the drive.

Yes. Depending on budget, health etc, it's certainly something to consider when house buying. Same as aircon

That's the problem...I do, and I work for a company that gets really snippy if you aren't at your desk on time, even if Armegedon is bringing a plague of frogs.

I need a small one, I'm reasonably short and not terribly rufty tufty. I want a machine that I can dominate...not the other way round.

This blizzard/storm has been the biggest one of the whole winter....and we've had a few. We've 'officially' had 29 cms in Fredericton they've just said on the telly. It was snowing this morning and it's still snowing now....but it will stop soon and the spring will come

Crikey! What talk! You have just come out of hibernation, haven't you.

CBC said 44 cm here which I reckon to be the second biggest.

And much against my wishes - communicated only last week - the damned newspaper is sitting on top of the city plow ridge. It'll be buried when Mr Plow does his work

I'm not willing to wade through snow drifts just to retrieve it. In past winters it's been thrown onto the steps on snowy days where I can retrieve it.

They are not that difficult to operate. If you are able to use a gas lawnmower, I suspect you will have little difficulty with operating a snow blower.

Typically, one walks behind them and, once they are started, all operations are controlled at the handles. There is usually a lever that sits under one hand that operates the power to the wheels, and a lever that sits under the other hand that operates the impeller. The speed of the wheels is controlled by a gearstick and the direction of the thrown snow is controlled by other sticks.

We bought a 30" wide Ariens (similar to this one: Ariens snowblower) that chewed through everything, ice, snow, wood (it went through a piece of 3" x 2" wood that was buried under the snow I was ploughing) but a few days after we bought it, it died. Upon taking it back to Home Depot, they told us that it was toast and, as we bought it late one winter, they didn't have another to offer us a replacement so we received a full refund.

We then bought a 28" Cubcadet (similar to this one: Cubcadet snowblower). It is nowhere near as good as the Ariens for going through ice but it copes very well with the powdery snow that we typically get in Alberta.

Some come with heated handles, some come with tracks rather than wheels.

We have a tractor with a blade that we use for our drive. We use the snowblower for cutting pathways through drifts to enable us to get from one paddock to another. Sometimes, these are over 3 feet deep. The top of the blower is around 2 feet high but, if you go slow, the snow above this height falls down (by the use of "cutters" that extend forward and upward of the top edge of the cover). I wouldn't be without one now. We just have to decide whether we wish to purchase one to fit onto the tractor. We don't really get enough snow to justify such an expense and, as our tractor does not have a cab, I doubt we will ever get one.

I use a gas mower and the handle to keep the power going is all there is to bother with once started. No second lever, no gears and no 'other sticks' to use.

You're probably right about them not being that difficult but I imagine it might be not that difficult for someone who drives a car rather than someone who operates a gas mower.

I have visions of turning the chute thingy the wrong way and sending snow where I don't want it to go

Think so...I'm trying my best.

Bristol...my thoughts are with you....looks like you are going to get a good bashing...us too...I may go back into my hole till spring

On snowblowers....

I laboured mightily for 4-5 hrs yesterday to clear the windblown, wet, 40cm that had drifted a metre deep in places. It was slow going as the snow was too solid to make a cut of more than 10cm or so at a time. It was, frankly, one of those storms where it would have been a lot easier to get a man with a JCB in. I also have a quad and plow for the small snowfall cleanups and I managed to get that very stuck yesterday & had to dig/winch it out.

If you are out west with light fluffy snow, or for those occaisons where we get that on the East Coast, then snowblowers work very well. One can stroll along behind while it blasts a plume of snow onto the neighbours lawn. When it's wet, heavy snow, you have to get physical, pushing, pulling & heaving the bloody thing around. I'm 6ft and 220lbs and I felt it after yesterdays efforts. (Although I would have felt it a helluva lot more had I had to shovel the whole drive I suppose. Plus do you like how I'm mixing metric and imperial in this post. Very Canadian, that.)

If you are going to buy/replace a lighterweight snowblower then I'd suggest no more than 28" cut and as much HP as you can get. I have an Ariens 11.5hp 28" machine. The gold standard in snowblowers are the Honda units but they are twice the price of anything else. Ariens, Husqvana, Toro all good, but avoid the Yardworks type units you pick up at crappy tire or home hardware.

Investing in snowclearing technology gives you control - you can do it to your own schedule. It's also more gas powered stuff to play with which ticks the manly boxes. Economically though, it's probably cheaper in the long run to pay the man with a plow to do it for you!

Good photo, but I don't see any daffodils ?

A couple of pics from the latest storm.

The first shows the deck rails at the top of the steps. You can see the line of snow. When I first saw this I thought it was just a high drift against the steps but that is pretty much the depth of the snow right to the back of the yard.

Note that trough/trench like area around the garage.

The second pic shows the drifting on the drive against the garage.

Definitely no daffs.

Another winter storm just about to kick off.

Hope all works out well for those in the ferry trapped in the ice.

Cape Breton Ferry Trapped In Ice, 190 Passengers On Board