To All Those Plow Guys...You Know Who You Are...

Well, it's been a hard winter here in NH.

I have fence posts out front that I still can barely see the tops of, even though the snow has settled some. Much more, and the snow on the lawn will be higher than my deck. I have formed a technique of inching the nose of my car just barely out into the road on the theory that the car that I can't see for the 6 foot snowbanks will just glance off my left fender to let me know that the coast is not clear.

Of course, it's a little tricky when the driveway is icy...it requires a bit of a running start to make it up the slight slope. It's gung ho and pray it's a Ford Fiesta and not an F250 with a new butterfly plow blade.

Every snowstorm takes me about 4 hours to clear out. No snow blower here and no cash to hire a plow. Then there's ice dams on the roof. And digging out the mailbox so the mail carrier can make his appointed rounds. While sleet and snow may not prevent him, apparently 4 feet of solidly impacted ice crystals will.

Then there's the weeks of temps around the zero mark, and lower. Makes the woodpile go down fast. Nothing better than hopping into a hot shower after getting all sweaty hauling wood up to the house when it's 10 below. That is, if you have enough heating oil in the tank to run the furnace. Having to run down to the gas station to pick up some off-road diesel every 5 days or so gives one a real appreciation for hot water.

Like I said, it's been a tough winter.

Last year (or was it two years ago) some local folks went all viral with a video spoofing a pop/rap song thing but all about NH. They just came out with a new one, a tribute to those intrepid and unsung (until now) heroes of the NH economy. They are working hard, and many are having a mighty good year.

Let's give it up for the plow guys.