The first major snowstorm of the season hit Aroostook County Sunday dropping more than a foot a white powder on the area. The storm essentially ensures that we will most definitely have a “White Christmas” this year.
For many, Sunday was a day to sit back and watch the snow fall, which it did all day and into the evening. Church services were cancelled for many parishes, as the falling snow made driving conditions a wee bit dangerous.
When one works in the newspaper business, a good old-fashioned dumping of snow does not translate into a day of fun and games. Instead, a “snow day” means it is time to grab the camera and go out to find photographs of people enjoying or loathing the snow to fill the paper with.
That was my plan for Sunday morning, once the driveway was cleared, of course. So once the many layers of sweatshirts and ski pants were put on, off I trudged through the snow to fire up the snow blower for the first of many excursions this winter.
One never knows for certain if their snow blower will fire up when needed, but since my father had been over a few weeks ago to change the oil and spark plug, I was pretty confident it would fire up with out hesitation.
The first few pulls of the starter cord yielded not so much as a peep out of the trusty John Deere machine. Unfazed, I pushed the primer a few more times and decided I was going to give it a powerful pull. That will surely start it, right?
Well, midway into my mighty tug, the pull cord decided it had enough and promptly snapped, sending me tumbling into a pile of shovels in the shed. Lesson learned … next time roll the blower out of the shed before trying to start it to avoid crashing into a collection of items stored in the shed.
After muttering a few choice words, it was on to Plan B of finding an extension cord long enough to reach from the basement to the blower to use the automatic start feature. Of course most of our extension cords are now in use for the Christmas lights both inside and out, so after a few more muttering of words I was able to find just the right cord to reach.
With the blower now chugging, I was ready to spend the next hour or so clearing the driveway. I’m probably in the minority here, but I actually find “snowblowing” to be therapeutic. I’m not so sure snowblowing is an actual word, but for the sake of this column it will be.
It’s taken four winters to finally figure out just the right pattern for clearing the driveway. You wouldn’t think that it would be that difficult, but throwing snow, when factoring in wind conditions, can sometimes prove challenging. I like to pile the snow in the back yard to create a miniature mountain for the kids to play on. I also have to be sure to clear an area for the dog to do her business, preferably a safe distance away from said mountain.
Once the driveway was cleared, it was on to the task of finding photos of people having as much fun as I just did. Misery loves company after all. Sometimes you never know what you will find when looking for photos. That’s part of the wonder of it all.
Surprisingly, there was a great many people out and about Sunday, even though road conditions were less than ideal. So in no time at all, I had a collection of photos to document the day.
The new fallen snow is sure to bring out the skiers and snowmobilers, which hopefully will make for a long and prosperous season for the many businesses that rely on their support during the long winter months.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
