When we moved here to paradise from Ontario, we were told (by the real estate agent selling us the lot) that, like Camelot, everything was perfect and all you needed was a broom to whisk away the light flakes that might adorn your sidewalk and driveway on a beautiful Christmas evening in the moonlight, but reality proved that, like all sales pitches, that claim must be taken with a grain of salt, or more like a bucket if you end up with ice on your driveway.

Sorry for this first sentence but Meagan and Jorg gave me a book about great opening sentences from novels, and I had to try.

We sold the snow blower we owned in Oakville before we moved here.  That winter (2008) we had a major 12 inch dump of wet, heavy concrete-like snow in December.  Fortunately we were hosting Christmas that year and had a whole bunch of sons to shovel.  The following winter I bought a new snow blower by justifying to Pat that it was this purchase or her being a widow.

So I have this big machine that I rarely get to use, but when I do, it is a godsend.  We only get a couple of dumps a winter but when it falls, if you do not get rid of it immediately, your driveway and sidewalks turn to ice because the temp is typically O° C.

Over the last few years I welcomed the opportunity on a snowy night to get out there and run the machine up and down the street doing our neighbours’ driveways and the public sidewalks.  Only needs a couple of cm of snow to get me going.  Last year the machine never left its spot in the corner of the garage.

This last week’s snow fall was perfect.  I got to it early in the evening while it was fluffy so that the blower could throw the snow far away and clear down to the pavement.  The next morning the temp went up and the sidewalks and driveways done by me were clear and those who did not benefit from my efforts, and chose to drive over it, were left with ice.

While I do this for the neighbours because I am, by nature, benevolent and do not expect recognition, I do welcome the emails and personal calls to thank me.  Granted I also like those years when the snow is so deep that the thanks come with a bottle of wine, but we take what nature gives us.