Ready for snow?

[SylvanLakeWH 30,557]

I broomed 1/8" off the back porch this morning... 

[WHX?? 54,862]

Well spring supposedly just around the corner but watching you guys get hammered makes me want to load up some equipment and join the fun. Ah the sound of that Onan and a deuce. Belts squealing better back off... naw got a new spare tucked under the seat. and can change it as fast the best pit crews. Bob's cheapy fuel pump moving lots of gas. 

 

Stay safe fellas ... 

[sqrlgtr 2,143]

I can honestly say this is the 2nd biggest snow we've had this year.. As much as I like to push snow I do not envy u guys that are getting hammered. Staybwarm and safe out there!

Edited 5 hours ago by sqrlgtr

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,811]

My back deck

 

[lynnmor 8,612]

Just finished snow blowing, this stuff stuck to the blower like the last time despite the cooking spray.

 

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,811]

3 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

this stuff stuck to the blower

This is what I am afraid of

[WHX?? 54,862]

8 minutes ago, nylyon said:

This is what I am afraid of

Ok if it's the wet slush I'm stayin home.  Looked like powder on TV/GMA. 

That's a goodly amount when you can't tell what's on the back deck. 

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,811]

Progression of the storm up till now.  It is still snowing heavily, so not even going to attempt cleaning anything up yet.  Note in the last picture, the blower is covered now.

[cafoose 3,586]

35 minutes ago, sqrlgtr said:

I can honestly say this is the 2nd biggest snow we've had this year..

 

[WHX?? 54,862]

Looks like you got a pretty enjoyable drive way to blow Coach. Aside from stuff your wife is probably telling you to get rid of. I'm workin on it dear I'm working on it.  'Till Shynon texts me about a 754 ... 

[OoPEZoO 593]

I spent about 5 mins trying to use the 2-stage blower on my 522xi, then parked it back in the garage and jumped on the old trusty 314-8 with the plow on the front.  This was definitely too sticky and wet for the blower.  It was picking it up and throwing it, but not more than a few feet.  Wasn't worth the effort

[Blue Chips 690]

On 2/21/2026 at 10:41 PM, WHX?? said:

Exactly ... I been driving on frozen lakes here for fifty years .. dad & gramps alot  longer and never had this problem. They just new & guess I learned from the best. 

 

Our river always freezes over, which is why I have to pull our dock out prior to every winter, but I believe that the ice thickness has been decreasing over the 18 years that we've been in Maine. Personally, I never walk out on the river ice since there's still a sizeable current running under the ice, which can cause the thickness to vary. Also, our tidal changes cause fracturing of the ice (despite being tidal, we're inland far enough from the ocean that it's still fresh water and freezes).

 

If you hit a thin spot on a frozen river, it can be worse than falling through on a frozen lake if the current happens to be strong enough to pull you under the ice. 

[Blue Chips 690]

Just started snowing here about 10 minutes ago. A blizzard warning is in effect, so it will be windy today. The snow should be fairly light and powdery...we'll see. The amount of snow in the forecast has been going down as the storm has been approaching, so we're only expecting about 4 inches today, but here along the coast the local conditions can vary quite a bit, and with the wind we might get some significant drifts.

 

I slogged my way down to the shore yesterday, and despite some considerable melting having taken place, the snow was still knee-deep in places, so I got a good workout in both directions, especially hiking back up the hill to the house, even though it's only about 450 feet from the shore, with an 80-foot elevation change.

 

[lynnmor 8,612]

1 hour ago, cafoose said:

 

 

[Brockport Bill 2,207]

2 hours ago, c-series don said:

Last night I took the 417-A with two stage blower out around 10:00 I got up at 6:00 and it looks like we have over a foot in the area that I cleared. I have my generator ready and plenty of wood staged for the wood stove. Now they are saying up to 30” possible! Although the two- stage is bad ass, I might have to bust out my Ford 545-C loader. However it doesn’t have a cab so that’s going to wait until it’s done snowing. Right now it’s a full on blizzard outside! 
 After almost 40 years in the snow plowing business and now retired from it, it is really weird being home during this. There’s pros and cons to this. The pro is I’m home with my wife and granddaughter. Granddaughter is here because my daughter is a police/fire/EMS dispatcher and my son in law works for the town so he is out plowing. I don’t miss the anxiety of worrying about trucks breaking down or getting stuck or anything else that can go wrong. The cons are that I will miss a windfall of money I would have made and I’m in a very small way missing being out in a big truck with an 11’ plow opening up unplowed roads. There is a bit of a thrill doing that, but it wears off after hours and hours. 
 Heading out to clear the driveway now, pics to follow…. 

Don: I always have had enormous respect and fondness for "road warriors" and "first responders" like you, your daughter and son in law --- these are some of the true hidden heroes of our nations core - - together with the utility workers and others they make our communities work ( add in the over night nurses and doctors ) -- often faceless at an overnight shift dispatching 911 calls -- or driving a plow at 3 a.m. --- or climbing an electric pole in the middle of the night in driving rain to restore power to your home. I had the blessing in my career to over see thousands of those folks ----  so I witnessed up front their value and contributions to keeping our communities safe and thriving  -- i stood in the highway garage watching as many dozens of those crews came and left all nite long with another load of salt after perhaps a one hour nap and another coffee to keep our county roads safe -- stood along side a room full of 911 dispatchers over nite in the middle of a hurricaine as they dispatched another ambulance or rescue team - or a police officer racing to a scene. ----------------- As you stated you miss the job and your contribution to your community but impressive to know your family follows in your footsteps -- sooooooo enjoy doing your driveway running those "Red Horses" - but know we all appreciate the sacrifices you and they make for our families.

[rmaynard 16,852]

Well I awoke to about 4-5" of wet snow in the driveway. The 416-H with 48" blade made short work of it. That machine is a beast. I used to use the B-100-8 speed which did a fine job, but as age has crept up on me, the hydro transmission and hydro lift of the 416 makes it much easier on this old guy. 

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,811]

Single stage on a 416-8.  The Onan was working, but threw the snow far and no clogging!  It is still snowing, and will probably clean up the rest with the plow.

[nylyon-(Admin) 8,811]

 

 

 

[Handy Don 15,879]

1 hour ago, Blue Chips said:

f you hit a thin spot on a frozen river, it can be worse than falling through on a frozen lake if the current happens to be strong enough to pull you under the ice.

Buck just missed this fate in Jack London's in The Call of the Wild.

 

Back in for elevenses (i.e. coffee break) after Round One.

16” drift in front of the garage door just a bit too much for the 854 & blade--not enough traction to move it more that a few feet. About 12+" on the rest of the driveway plus the “wall” from the street plow at the end, of course. 

With the tractor shifted out of the way, though, I could get to the blower. (I’d “retired” the ’73 Ariens blower two winters ago when the 854+blade was working so well. When I tried to start the blower during last month's 13-inch storm it wouldn’t. A snit at being ignored--which I deserved. Gave it some TLC and a carb rebuild and it’s back online.)

 

 

[Ed Kennell 44,813]

2 hours ago, OoPEZoO said:

 This was definitely too sticky and wet for the blower.

About 10"s of wet stuff.   Perfect for the 520H and 48" blade.   About 2 hours an 2 gallon of fuel to clean up the neighborhood.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Ed Kennell

[c-series don 11,339]

Took the 417 out but didn’t get far, something happened with the PTO. I’m not sure what but I didn’t feel like messing with it and this is a lot of heavy wet so I parked it. It was time for the Ford 545-C. Thank goodness I had it because it really made short work of it. After I cleaned off most of the driveway I moved the vehicles into the cleared area to clean them off. After that I wanted to clean that area again and the area where they were parked but the 545 wouldn’t start, so out came the 418-C for the clean up! Thank goodness I had a backup, and a backup for my backup 😂😂 All said and done we got about two feet of snow. Just came in to put a log on the fire and take a nap!