Lots of Snow!

I have a lot of space to clean when it snows – a long driveway, a good-sized parking area and a corner lot in the city at my rental property. It’s not usually a big deal, but we got 10 inches of snow!
I have a snowblower with an electric start, but I’ve had a lifelong love/hate relationship with pull-start yard equipment. Nothing can reduce me to tears as quickly as an inoperable pull start. Of course, it’s a big sense of accomplishment when they work for me, too, so I try to pull start it if I can.
In preparation for the upcoming season, I tried the snowblower in November and it started the first time. When the driveway was full of snow and I had misplaced the cord, however, it wouldn’t start. I sighed and got out the shovel.
After 90 minutes of shoveling and a back injury, I realized that maybe there wasn’t anything special about that misplaced power cord. Maybe just any extension cord would do? Sure enough, an adapter allowed me a complete, albeit scary-looking, electrical connection and it fired right up.
My friends from Houston (Carrie & Fred; she's the girl pictured on the pony) gave me the snowblower when they moved south. I am so happy to have it.
Clearing the driveway had always been something my husband did and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He had a huge piece of equipment with a dangerous-looking auger. He would be outside for hours, dressed for a trek in the Yukon. He would return looking like the Yeti, clearly pleased with himself for, once again, having overcome the power of Nature.
I never learned to run his big snow-destroyer. I think it’s pretty funny that one of his dying requests was to be sure that I had a snowblower – one that I could put in the back of the truck to take with me. That concern shows what a great guy he was and the request shows how well he was aware of my limitations. I couldn’t count the times he rescued me by starting whatever pull-start piece of equipment I was crying over at the time.
Thanks, Fred!