Bread & Circuses, Day V

As expected, the snow that was melting into slush yesterday froze into a solid sheet of ice overnight. My scouting yesterday led me to believe that it would be fine to drive if you could get to the road, so I pulled the van down the driveway and parked it by the road last night before things re-froze.

However, that still meant getting down to the van this morning. Our driveway is a good length for one in rural Georgia, and the house was wisely built by its original owners on a hilltop. As a consequence, there was a length of serious ice to traverse in order to reach the van, and my wife had to go out this morning.

I went with her, and broke holes in the ice for her to walk in. She can't stomp hard with her recently broken leg, which is still healing, although she can now walk again. With patience we eventually reached the bottom of the hill, and she had no trouble getting the van up onto the roads, which seem to be completely clear except in shadowy places. I'd scouted a route to the nearest state highway that should be clear all the way.

This is why I get away with so much the rest of the time.

6 comments:

Texan99 said...

Yep, this is why we keep you guys around! I'm sure you already know that, as much as she already cares for you, her heart probably was exploding with love when you helped her this way. Much better than a dozen roses.

Grim said...

Well, I'm going to make her a heart-shaped brownie cake while she's gone. Just in case. :) She does put up with a lot.

E Hines said...

How will she get back up the hill?

I always throw down sand on our sidewalks, that being orders of magnitude better than salt.

Although your driveway sounds like it will take rather more than a 20lb bag, or two, of sand.

I also throw a couple of large bags of sand into the trunk of my car in winter, both for real-time use on roads and for extra ballast; although with my hybrid, the batteries eating up the trunk also add extra ballast.

Eric Hines

Cass said...

Much better than a dozen roses.

Definitely :) Roses wither and fade but memories of loving kindness never grow dim.

Grim said...

How will she get back up the hill?

It's not a sheet of ice in the afternoon, when it's 50 degrees. Just in the morning, when it's 25.

Hopefully tomorrow it won't be bad at all. Looks like we'll just have a few feet with ice on it, rather than the healthy part of a mile we had today. Much thinner ice, too.

Eric said...

Like water off a duck's back at this point. There hasn't been this snowy a winter around these parts since the 1880's.

It's hell on the equipment, though.