So you know what happens when you get to the bottom of your driveway in the Syracuse city neighorhood of Eastwood all cleared from the night’s worth of snow, including the big pile deposited by the snow plow at the bottom, right?
Inevitably?
Almost beautiful.
I still had my shovel in hand and was attacking the middle portion when the plow went past again, leaving that new pile of hard, frozen and ugly castoff snow for me to clear all over again.
You know how everybody used to label the nut-job who went bananas in public as having “gone postal?”
I’m about to change it to “going snow plow.”
And since I’m getting Grumpus on you anyway, this big deposit from down the street is why I give my two neighbors on my side in that direction the stink eye when I see them pull their snow-laden cars into the street before they take their brushes and clear them. This method means that all of THEIR car snow ends up in MY DRIVEWAY.
My car snow in my driveway.
My good-neighborly method is to clear my dear wife Karen and my cars off from the accumulated snow in our driveway. And then I shovel it with the rest of OUR SNOW up on OUR BANKS on the side of OUR DRIVEWAY.
Geez. A little common courtesy? These are folks around my age. I know. I’m the one with the problem.
I want to take you higher. Boom chak-a-laka.
I angled my Chevy Cruze after I’d finished chopping and clearing Everest to try to give the best perspective about how high our banks are after two days of this Nor’easter.
My shoulders are a bit sore. And it’s my bowling night. Oh, goodie.
Who’s right on this car snow-clearing thing, me in the driveway or the neighbors who pull them into the street first? Would you bring it up to them, stew about it or or just let it go? Would you playfully toss a snowball at the snow plow the second go-round? Fire one like Madison Bumgarner?
Mark Bialczak 
Guess that’s one advantage we have here. Living on a two-lane road at the edge of the county, they scrape one lane down the center of the road and disappear forever. Guess they figure the snow faeries will take care of the rest.
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That’s scary to me, Cat. You do have two-way traffic is my assumption. 😦
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I think they rely on the traffic to eventually create other ruts that will melt
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Yeah, let the regular drivers do the work.
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Let it go – and I haven’t even seen ‘frozen’ but when i see or hear that phrase the song pings into my head!
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Very good words here, Rachel.
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Seriously??? Only a fool would brush snow off a car in a place where he knows he has to shovel! Why would anyone want to move the same snow twice!
Very unlikely that their snow ends up in your driveway and if it does, seems logical to explain this to them and ask that they simply move up the street a few feet to brush off their car.
This assumes, of course that you can have reasonable conversations with your neighbor…
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Thanks for expressing your opinion to this fool, Fred.
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YOU are right; THEY are wrong! No hesitation in my voice. And when I move up there, I will be happy to walk with you to confront them! AND I will help you give them the hairy eyeball! And yes, you DO need to throw a snowball at the plow! Rude people suck! I want more neighbors like you!
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Well, I don’t want to be starting any blood fueds, Rachel. You are very strong in your defense, my friend. 🙂
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LOL! My opinions are usually stronger than my actions, though, so I think you’d be safe. In reality, I’d probably either do nothing, or else send a strongly worded note, anonymous, of course.
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Good one, Rachel!
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This is too bad, since I know how nice you are and what a good neighbor, too. I would just have to tend to ignore and hope karma bites him in the butt! ha ha!
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Yeah, well, I don’t want too much bad karma because all things considered, they are good neighbors. Tough situation all around.
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I’d toss that snowball, give the stink eye and keep that snow shovel greased up….because you’ll be doing it for awhile. 😦
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Could be on shovel until April, Colleen. You sure got that right. 😦
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Uh oh…..Our snow here is hit and miss. Might have inches one day and sunshine and grass needs cut the next. Never can tell. Gets confusing I must say.
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That sounds confusing at least, Colleen. Leggings to shorts!
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Oh so confusing….
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I hear you, Mark. Same story here. Though most everyone on our street keeps cars in garages, so no vehicular snow. Though it does bug me when cars hit the freeway with snow piled high and the snow gets sprayed my way so I can’t see where I’m going. All sorts of things to go Grumpus on in winter. Not a fan.
I like your blue car!
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Winter is made for Grumpus way more than summer, Liz, for sure. The people who don’t clear their cars, don’t get me started on that! Thanks for the thumb’s up on my blue car, birthday girl, since I’m getting to this comment Friday morning. Sag rules!!
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I think you’re allowed to be grumpy, Zak. Seriously! I think your take on the snow plow guy is straight up, right. You need a beer. xx
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Or two. We got swept in bowling, too, Aud. Ack!
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Oh, that’s frustrating! Both the snow plow coming around to leave more snow at the end of the driveway and the neighbors not being considerate! You are such the “better” person always thinking of others, Mr. B! 🙂
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Thanks, Mrs. B. I try. But do get frosted by winter shenanigans such as these. 😮
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Ah, yes. The joys of living in a climate with real seasons. I feel your pain, Mark. The snowplow pain, the occasional blister and the lack of consideration at times. But I bet your lovely wife gives you huge brownie points for taking the task on. And that makes it worth it:).
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Correct on all counts, Kay. Getting Karen out to work on time is worth it!
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Good luck bowling! 🙂
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Thanks, Kate. I rolled very well, 50 pins over my average for the series. But my team got swept for the second straight week. Ack.
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Next week is the charm!
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Well, I think we call it even because no one shovels their yard )
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Thank goodness for that, Beth!
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Oh I feel your pain. I’ve had my drive blocked by the plows dragging what’s been tossed into the street, more than once. I shovel my own and make piles on the side of a driveway until I make an almost tunnel and then it’s into Al’s yard as you know. And he is good with that –
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Bless you, Al, for being good with that!
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You have every right to give your neighbors the stink eye. I would too. Obviously they have either not thought about what they’re doing or they simply don’t care. I’m leaning more towards they know exactly what they’re doing and they just don’t want the snow in they yard, which is very inconsiderate. People aren’t how they used to be that’s for sure.
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I go the extra yard to keep my stuff in my parameters. Seem like easy guidelines to me. Oh, well, Me Who. If only …
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I currently live in a university area and the city does an awesome job clearing streets and sidewalks quickly. They sand sidewalks and ususally even rem e snowbanks on my side within 2days. But a few years ago i lived in a cul de sac like evilsquirrel and it was every person for themselves. In a big storm it would be at least 2 days befoe we even saw a plow ad, of course there is only one side to a street in a cul de sac so thevolume of snow was double that ended up in the driveway. The plow operators were pretty considerate as the drifts at the end of the driveway would often be over 6 feet high. They would take a pass with a front end loader and push it onto the lawn. Our lawns close to the street were always a mess as the sand and salt would accumulate and kill the grass. Any attempt to garden or put in decorative fancing was a lost cause as soon as winter came the plows would be up on the front lawns.
I recall one bad storm we had in late winter with over 40 inches of snow. Afte 5 days, they still had not plowed our cul de sac. I had an Intrepid at the time – very heavy – and had carved a set of ruts out to the main road (about 1 mile). Our cul de sac residents had used snow blowers and shovels to clear the cul de sac so we could enter and exit driveways easily and walk from house to house. It was a challenge.
Honestly Mark, i can see you being upset by your neigbours’ clearing their cars in the street. I used to dig a big hole in the snowbank about 10 feet from the driveway when I lived on a normal street. A lot of the snow from the plow would empty into the hole and stay out of the driveway. After some experience I could cut a hole the right length and depth in about 15 minutes to take most of the plow snow.
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I can’t use the “hole” method because every-other day cars park on my side of the street, Paul, and some Einstein would attempt to pull into the hole, I’m sure. But that is a brilliant idea. I love it.
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Oh, Mark, BIG (((HUGS))). Shoveling snow is NOT fun. I know all about those kind of neighbors you speak of. During our big storm a few weeks back, hubs pulled his truck out in the street to get the snow off (he honestly had no place to put it) and someone called the police on him. Yep. So someone came by and warned him if he did it again, he would get a ticket. Believe it? Believe it. Hang in there! (((HUGS))) Amy
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Well, no matter, I would not call the police on my neighbors in question here. That’s pretty dang bad, Amy. Sorry you had to go through that in addition to the snow trauma. Sigh. We’re fine here, thank you! ❤
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More (((HUGS))), Mark. I know how stressful digging out cane be!! Love, Amy
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We’ve only had rain here Mark. I really don’t mind snow if it is only snow, but we usually get a couple inches of ice first, then the snow on top, making it extremely dangerous. Even worse is the black ice that is a real bone cruncher. My solution is hibernation, thus all the crochet work. I keep emergency supplies on hand, have enough yarn to keep me busy for another 20 years, and I’m good to go until spring. I’ve actually been out 2 times today, and one more time scheduled if my son shows up. Just re-stocking the shelves.
Glad I don’t have a car any more. Don’t have to worry about digging it out or driving on ice. I was always sure of my own driving, but not so sure about other people who liked to play “chicken” on the ice. I could control my own skids, couldn’t do a thing about theirs except try to stay out of their way. Don’t take my present wheels out on bad days though. Don’t want to short the batteries out, or turn my convertible over and get crunched up under it. I managed to run over my own foot once and it ‘urt, so wouldn’t want to run over my own body. Would make a good blog post though, hummmm.
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You’re right, Angie. No matter how sure you are of your own winter driving, it’s always Demolition Derby time out on the roads when they turn into ice rinks because of the various “talent levels” of other drivers. You are safer as you are now, my friend. And a great afghan-maker, too, I must add.
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Ah, thanks. I seem to be going slower on the last one, but only have a couple of inches to go. I think I am dreading the finish line. Of course then I’ll be able to make my own, but still….
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My cul de sac is so low on the city’s priority list that my street usually gets plowed about 2 days after the snow has melted. I’m one of only two people living on the street who’s smart enough to keep their garage empty enough to keep their car in… and I’m probably the only one who never plows their driveway. If I can’t barrel through it, I’ll just stay home…
Good luck rolling those snowballs tonight….
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An empty garage. You are one brilliant dude, Bill. As you can see from my photos, we have no room for a garage on our tiny city plot, alas. It only bothers me on these snow days.
Nah, I’m not going to pelt the plows. We need ’em too much around here.
I like your ramming strategy. It reminds me of ‘Animal House.’
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Oh, I see my previous comment may have hit a nerve. I did mention I was only kidding, right?? Ha, ha. Yes, you are absolutely right! A curse on your inconsiderate neighbors!!
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Nerve? What nerve, Marissa. Do I seem a bit hangled to you? Ha. Somebody on my FB page commented that the car-brushing-in-the-street is the price I pay for living in a democracy. See? I knew I was the one with the problem here. 🙂
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You could always move to North Korea…
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And wait for with Seth Rogen comedies. 🙂
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I do not envy you your battle with the snow.
We have one neighbor who used to go ballistic over similar behavior. So a group of us sneaked out in the middle of the night and like Christmas elves clear off the areas that offended. It was fun like a college prank, I brought cocoa and snacks.
The net effect: the “offending” neighbors spends more time cleaning up around their vehicles. The neighborhood is a lot quieter. And we now have a neighborhood BBQ every summer. 🙂
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Brilliant, Fannie! You little Elves, you. I bet the neighborhood picnic is fun, too, now that everybody is hunky-dory. I get along with these folks in every other way, so …
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Wow here in Virginia we haven’t had hardly any snow, I am hoping for a white Christmas though its been years since we had one.
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I hope you get enough Christmas snow in Virginia to make it pretty, Mx4B!
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Thanks, I hope you get a break fron the snow to.
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It’s snowing here too, Mark. I’ve had enough!
Leslie
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Yes, it’s easy to get tired of it quickly, Leslie. Agreed!
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I’m so glad our car sleeps in the garage and we have a reliable snow removal guy from Dec-March.
He always seems to show up just when we need him to remove that compacted frozen blockade left by the city snow plows.
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You have a good thing going on, Norm. Bravo!
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Hope you do very well bowling!
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Thanks, PJ. I hope my arm stays attached and doesn’t go sailing down the lane with the ball. 🙂
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That’s funny! I hope so too. 😀
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You let go of the ball before it goes down the lane Mark. Or, in my case–the alley.
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I forgot! My mind was in the gutter. Or, in my case, the channel.
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I wouldn’t want to inadvertently tick off the snowplow guys. I worked for the highway department for a few years; some of the callers we got complaining about their streets would have loaded those snowballs with rocks, I am sure. I get what you mean though.
I would let it go on the snow clearing but I agree, driveway is the way to go.
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I was just joshing about the snowball thing. I would never. The plow drivers are just doing their job, and it’s not easy because, well. I will post again about how my neighbors in the apartments don’t follow the alternate-side-of-the-street parking laws, making it impossible sometimes for the plow to fit through our street. That’s not fun at 2 a.m. when the city plan calls or the plow driver to blow the horn and then bang the blade against the road until the offending driver comes out to move the car.
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Oh, I knew you wouldn’t do that, but I was just thinking that some people don’t view it as them just doing the job. Or the difference between primary roads vs. a cul de sac in terms of cleaning priority 🙂
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🙂
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