Opinion : Learning Country Living - Our First Snow

Gene and I moved to rural Benton County in the fall of 2009. Our first year was filled with challenges as we learned to manage 14 acres, a long driveway, snow removal and . . . more snow. The winter of 2009/10 had the second highest snowfall in history and wouldn't you know that was the year we moved to Benton County. December, 2009: For the past couple of days, the weather man has been warning us about the potential for heavy snow, and when we got up this morning he mentioned a blizzard warning for our area. Gene and I took this warning seriously and made a plan. He would go to work and I would use the new Kubota with a snow blade to try to keep just enough snow off the driveway so that he could get in. Then we would double team and do the serious snow removal once he was home for the evening or over the weekend. Noon: The snow seems to be falling quickly and the weatherman keeps upping the forecasted amounts and warning of white out conditions for the evening. Super! I take my first pass at the driveway and I'm surprised that there is already two inches on the ground. As I make the turn downhill, I'm having difficulty finding the driveway and start veering off into the grass. I know I'm in the grass because clumps of grass are thrown as the blade digs into it. I call Gene and he says not to worry about the rock part of the drive. He has 4 wheel drive on his truck and can take care of the heavy stuffwhen he gets home. 3:30 PM: It is starting to get dark outside and it just keeps snowing. The wind is really starting to blow and I can see some drifting along the drive. I take a second pass at moving snow and stop at the top of the hill. I call Gene and he says, "No problem. As long as you can get down the hill to get me, we can get the tractor out and move the rest later." Sounds like a plan to me. 5:15 PM: Gene calls to say he is heading home and the snow is really blowing. I tell him that I will drive the Kubota down to get him. I can barely see out the window as the wipers try to keep the window clear. As I make the turn for the bottom half of the driveway, I have no idea where the driveway actually is. I spot Gene's headlights down near the mailbox and head toward them. Gene climbs in and we look at each other and go "Wow!" We decide to gear up and try to clear the drive before dinner. 5:30 PM: The disaster begins: Gene dresses from head to toe in snow gear -- face mask, goggles, gloves, Carharts, boots. I, on the other hand, enjoy the luxury of a climate controlled Kubota and put on light boots, a coat and sweat pants. He climbs on the tractor with an 8' blade and says he will take care of the bottom half of the drive if I take the top half that is paved. The snow is very heavy and the wind is really blowing. I lose sight of him as he makes the turn to go downhill. Things go pretty well the first half hour and I have cleared a single path the length of the driveway. I decide to turn around in the grass. I am nearly back on the drive when I hit a hole and get the Kubota stuck at a 45 degree angle. I have to hold onto the steering wheel to keep from falling sideways. I try to back up. No luck. Forward . . . no luck. I look down the hill and see the tractor still moving and know I need to get myself out. I open the door and try to step out and the snow is up to my knees. Not a good time to be wearing sweat pants and light boots. And wouldn't it be nice if I had a shovel. I have no choice but to sit and wait for Gene to come up the hill. Meanwhile, Gene is freezing to death on the tractor and the snow is blowing so hard that he isn't making any progress. He decides to call it a night and try again in the morning. He sees me parked at the top of the hill and assumes I'm waiting for him. As he tries to come up the hill, he gets just past halfway when the tires hit ice and he and the tractor go sliding backwards down the slope. Two more tries and the same result. I'm screaming in the Kubota thinking he is going to flip the tractor. Gene decides to park the tractor and walk up the hill. Did I mention the ice? He is about halfway up the slope when he falls and slides down. He gets up and stuggles up the side of the drive and finally gets to the Kubota and climbs in. Now I have to tell him we are stuck. As I see it, we have two choices. Die in the Kubota and let someone chisel us out in the spring. Or walk to the shop and get a shovel. We start walking. We get to the shop and the garage door is frozen shut and won't open. Gene hands me the key to the side door and says he will go get the car so we can drive back to the Kubota and tow it out with a chain. I get inside the shop, my legs are frozen, my nose is running and I would cry if I had the energy. I chisel the ice from under the garage door and grab a shovel and go to step outside. The side door won't open. It is frozen shut. Are you kidding? No way this can be happening. There aren't any windows in the shop so I'm pounding on the door yelling, "I'm in here! The door is stuck!" Gene gets back to the shop and yells, "Open the door." As if! We yell back and forth through the door. He finally gets me out and we startto walk to the car when I hit the ice and my feet fly out from under me. I can't get up so I start crawling. Gene turns to come to my aid when boom! He is down on his knees. We are going to die. I'm certain of it. We both manage to get into the Prius and sit and look at each other. Gene says, "This better work because we are running out of vehicles." We both laugh. We manage to use the Prius to recover the Kubota and Gene has to walk down the half-mile hill the next morning, but we survived our first snow. And just to show how great of a community we live in, one of our neighbors noticed Gene's truck and the tractor out overnight and came and plowed the lower part of our drive the next morning. Kathy Lariviere - Author www.laughwithkathy.com mailto:laughwithkathyL@gmail.com