The cold weather and massive amount of snow that we have gotten has really put a cramp in my riding this winter. I am still getting plenty of exercise. In the past couple of weeks I have spent a few hours clearing the snow from the two large storms that we had recently.Snow always makes the landscape look better (See my pictures of my yard here). After a snow storm is done and the sun comes out I always take a look around and say how beautiful it is. That only last for a few minutes once I realize that I have a couple hours work to do the clear this crap. Luckily I have a snow blower which has made clearing the snow a little easier. Most years I don't even start it up but it is years like this that make it a must have.
Even with mechanical help clearing the snow is a chore not only do I have to clear the driveway and walk ways but I have to actually shovel part of the back yard. This is because of my small dog needs a place to do her business. She has very small legs so once the snow is over 3 inches she is almost up to her chest. We got almost 2 feet of snow so this was about a foot over her head.
My dog may be small but she doesn't think she is. After I had cleared out an area for her in the back yard she saw a squirrel and quickly climbed up the 3 foot snow bank and headed to the unshoveled part of the yard. After a few steps on the snow she disappeared, under the snow, when she hit the softer stuff. She's tough so she climbed right back out but now had an extra layer of snow around her.
She shook most of it off on her way back to the house but as the picture shows her face was still covered when she got back to the door. She really enjoys playing in the snow so I know that this will not be the last time that I will have to clean her off.
Puxatony Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter so I guess the snow and cold will be around for a while. We all the snow we have gotten I know I won't be riding on the roads anytime soon.
