I might invest in one, the pinky does seem to be the finger that is hardest to use I was wondering if that was just me or a thing more people had trouble with.
On the snow smashing front all I’ll probably have this year is a shovel and some salt but that should be enough I don’t think we get snow like you do.
My yearly snow totals are usually between 12' and 16'. One year, I got 21', but that was exceptionally awesome.
A snow scoop is also awesome. However, I've never seen anyone who can get by with just a scoop. It needs both a scoop and a shovel. But, depending on your driveway's size, a scoop will make things MUCH easier and faster, though they do take some planning.
I have a neighbor who scoops a driveway that's a circle thing and might total about 100' in total length. He does it in just about an hour, depending on the depth of the snow. I see him out there doing it and offer to plow it, but he seldom takes advantage of my offer. It's probably because he doesn't have the money to pay me - even though I distinctly charge zero people money. I actually refuse to let people pay me money.
I do have another ulterior motive. Being still new to the community (it's a small area and I'll be the new person until I die), it's a great way to help my neighbors and show them that I like them. They usually pay $20 for just a few quick passes with a plow - a five minute job. They then pay $80 when the snow gets really high and they have to bring in a tractor to move the snow.
I do this, without asking for or expecting payment, to any neighbor that's as old as I am or older. I also do it for a lady who's a single mother and a disabled gentleman. I end up doing 12 to 15 driveways and two parking lots. Last year, I also got a sander and this enables me to sand driveways and the parking lots.
When I first moved here, I'd never plowed a damned thing. In fact, I was pretty terrible at it when I tried. I spent a winter learning to plow my own (my first winter here, I was plowed by someone else) and then I started plowing out a couple of older people, if I saw them outside shoveling, when I'd go into town to top of my gas tank.
I'm aware that it's a strange hobby, but I actually enjoy it. I not only plow, but I get out and shovel the paths for some of the older folks. I wasn't doing anything better, it doesn't take long, it's a good way to keep fit, and I enjoy it. They also really, really appreciate it. They're very grateful that I do this and this saves them hundreds of dollars a year. Even the smallest driveway would be a $20 fee - per storm.
I had to look up what a scoop was but yeah that seems like it would make life easier. I might have to invest in one of those. We didn't get anything close to 12' last year maybe all winter 4' all winter.
I know where you live (within reason) and I find that surprising. You don't get any lake effect snow?
I'm also in a weird micro-climate. It's more easily seen on one of the "garden zone" maps, but I'm in 3b - and then I'm up at just a bit under 3,000' in elevation and I'm surrounded by lakes - with a bit of an area for energy to be picked up between myself and the White Mountains.
Out my front picture windows, I can see Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is famous for a few reasons, but the important one (for today) is that it has the record for the highest recorded wind-speed on land.
This is not a typo...
231 MPH.
I regularly get winds in the 60 to 80 MPH range - which means I get giant snow drifts - sometimes as high as the roof on my house.
I also have things like my chicken coop bolted to a concrete pad. One of those weather stations that tells you the wind speed and stuff like that? Yeah, I've gone through three of them - the wind is a horrible thief and likes to steal my stuff! But, it's awesome! I have a big (and really modern) house - and my whole house shakes. Even the summer storms are fantastic!
My house has to have J-bolts (the bolts that attach the sill to the foundation, keeping the house in place) at half the distance that a standard house has. If you go up on Mt. Washington, they have a house that's chained to the ground. It's chained to the ground because the wind kept moving it.
These are NOT little links of chain. Let me get you a picture... One sec!
https://imgoat.com/uploads/00da03b685/138219.jpg
Their record is -38 (my unofficial thermometer has told me I've hit -44) which was actually almost -100 when adjusted for windchill! Yeah, it's awesome! The weather here can, and does, kill people. If you're not dressed for it and assuming you're not an idiot and aren't naked, then you might have about 15 to 20 minutes.
After that, you're pretty much dead - unless someone else intervenes. At those temperatures, even in a light jacket and probably wearing a hat, your core temperature will drop so quickly that you'll lose your lucidity after just that short amount of time. You'll probably take your clothing off, because you start to feel hot. Many people who die in the cold are found in various states of undress because of this.
You've got maybe 30 minutes, but you're pretty much dead after 15 to 20 minutes.
The good news is you might just be fine! People actually do survive this now and all our hospitals are set up to deal with it.
Because you're so cold, your brain can go quite a while longer without actually suffering any damage - you cool that quickly. As in, people end up just fine (brain-health wise, they'll often have amputated limbs due to frostbite) after being dead, clinically dead, for hours!
What they do is they don't warm you up like people might think. They keep you really, really cold and increase the temperature slowly - restarting the heart when your temperature reaches the right point. They have special rooms with ice baths in them and they warm you up in that, over a period that can take days!
So, not that I recommend it, you might be just fine!
I have no idea where I am going with this, but I wanted to share some more about Maine.
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