Snow with Freeze

Winter's first snowfall arrived somewhat earlier than most years, about mid-December.  Our peak mostly arrives in early February.  My snowblower has not started for a few years, though I've not needed it.  Accumulation with this storm remained within my shoveling capacity, though the slushy consistency left each shovelful heavy.  Still, by limiting what I do to a few segments at a time, it did not take very long to clear the drift created by the street plow.  The rest of the driveway went easily, more pushing than lifting.  With my front yard facing south, I had much less snow than neighbors across the street.  Wind must have blown from the north, with my house shielding what accumulates.

While the driveway took only modest efforts repeated several times, the two cars posed more of a challenge.  Much more snow on each than on the driveway.  I keep a good snow brush in my back floor all year round.  Opening the back door took some effort but the wonders of an automated key fob made that easier that it had been earlier in my driving lifetime.  Just as the driveway and drift snow had a water base that made each shovelful heavy, the car surface, both metal and glass, had a water base.  Unlike the asphalt surfaces which kept the water liquid, the metallic and glass interfaces froze the water in direct contact with it.   I could scrape the windshields easily, the side windows less well.  Metallic surfaces remain covered.  Letting the front and rear defrosters run for seven minutes helped, though I've still not freed the windshield wipers on my car.

My state allows drivers on the road with metallic surfaces snow covered, the neighboring state barely more than a mile north does not.  And I've barely touched my wife's car.  A few significant errands will take me out today.  My wife needs to get to one of her doctors tomorrow.  Each vehicle will need to achieve ability to join the public highways.

Snow came amid a deep freeze, one expected to last another two days.  Retrieving the newspaper from the end of the driveway, as I do each morning, caused me to walk on a slick surface with rubber soled shoes.  The newspaper delivery vehicle managed to perform its rounds.  My development street typically remains icy until the temperature rises sufficiently for a melt.  Fortunately, it connects with a main road about a quarter mile away, one which has enough traffic to melt the surface ice by tire friction.  

The driveway and walk could clear with a few short efforts, none lasting more than twenty minutes.  I'll need to exert a similar effort for the two cars.