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Mar. 17th, 2007 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickIt probably snowed about eight inches. However, the ground was so warm and wet that I only plowed four. And a lot of dirt. (7 hr, 15 min.)
In the dead of winter, the ground is frozen solid. When I plow in the dead of winter and it's like five degrees outside, the plow kind of bounces along across the top of the dirt. Even if I'm using the dozer, the road doesn't get very torn up because it's frozen solid. However, as springtime slouches towards Bethlehem, waiting to be born, the ground gets soft. The ground gets soft way before there are leaves or even that fine pre-green color you get three days before there are leaves. The ground gets soft sometime after the end of February, just about the time that you begin to see little red bud/flower things (these are an important springtime food for squirrels, did you know?) on the ends of the more-optimistic tree branches along the river in Bedford.
It can still snow after the ground softens up. It did so last year in March and it did it again last night. Snow that falls after the ground softens up still has to be plowed. However, since the ground is soft, the plow doesn't exactly bounce over the road as much as it digs in. This is less than ideal. Plowing the dirt is hard on the equipment and feels like an utter waste of time because the plower knows for sure that the snow will be gone in less than a week. I plowed this morning but I didn't like it and bitched the whole time.
I didn't break anything, which was a plus. I didn't do anything but from the top of the road to the hill right before Dad's house. The side road to my house I omitted. It's flat and I have 4wd. I didn't do the other side of the lake. (Nobody's there to appreciate it.)
So. Current snow-removal totals for the valley: 7 hours, 15 minutes. Do I get misery pay for when I wind up dozing instead of plowing? It's a lot colder, is my point. (Even though the truck was NOT happy about plowing mud, I used the truck this time. And yes, I know that you can kind of lift the plow up a little to plow less mud. That's a grand idea but it might work better if (a) the plow hung level or (b) the road was flat.)
In the dead of winter, the ground is frozen solid. When I plow in the dead of winter and it's like five degrees outside, the plow kind of bounces along across the top of the dirt. Even if I'm using the dozer, the road doesn't get very torn up because it's frozen solid. However, as springtime slouches towards Bethlehem, waiting to be born, the ground gets soft. The ground gets soft way before there are leaves or even that fine pre-green color you get three days before there are leaves. The ground gets soft sometime after the end of February, just about the time that you begin to see little red bud/flower things (these are an important springtime food for squirrels, did you know?) on the ends of the more-optimistic tree branches along the river in Bedford.
It can still snow after the ground softens up. It did so last year in March and it did it again last night. Snow that falls after the ground softens up still has to be plowed. However, since the ground is soft, the plow doesn't exactly bounce over the road as much as it digs in. This is less than ideal. Plowing the dirt is hard on the equipment and feels like an utter waste of time because the plower knows for sure that the snow will be gone in less than a week. I plowed this morning but I didn't like it and bitched the whole time.
I didn't break anything, which was a plus. I didn't do anything but from the top of the road to the hill right before Dad's house. The side road to my house I omitted. It's flat and I have 4wd. I didn't do the other side of the lake. (Nobody's there to appreciate it.)
So. Current snow-removal totals for the valley: 7 hours, 15 minutes. Do I get misery pay for when I wind up dozing instead of plowing? It's a lot colder, is my point. (Even though the truck was NOT happy about plowing mud, I used the truck this time. And yes, I know that you can kind of lift the plow up a little to plow less mud. That's a grand idea but it might work better if (a) the plow hung level or (b) the road was flat.)
