Drift Away

When I say that the area got 6-8 inches of snow but I got 12-14 because of the drifts, you really don't understand that it means my driveway had 14 inches of snow on one side and about 6 on the other. Nor do you immediately comprehend that 14-inch drifts in the driveway means 3-foot drifts up against my front storm door and my garage doors. Many times after a snow storm I cannot get out of the front of my house, but instead have to kick my way through the snow on the patio out the back door, stomp through the entire back yard and make my way around the front of the house, carrying the shovel so that I can dig my way to one of the doors to get myself back in the front of my house.

This was not mentioned when the house was bought. Facing west has many downfalls, most of which involve sweltering heat in the summer months. However, during the winter when almost every storm comes from the west, the front and side of my house are exposed to a large, open field, which, with the slightest wind, pushes all the new snow up to the first object it encounters: my house. It used to be that if you parked two cars on the driveway, one would inevitably be buried to the hood in snow, while the other would have barely a dusting.

Don't believe me?

Late last night and early this morning, my driveway was shoveled three times, the last time being by my crazy neighbor who used his snowblower again. Between when he cleared my driveway at 9:30 am, and when I left for work at 11:15 am, this happened to my car.



Look at that creative sculpture only nature could create.



Note the driveway across the street, which was cleared at the same time mine was. Its blacktop is exposed. I cannot see black on my driveway at all, and there are another few inches of snow on the passenger side of my car, below the drift.



Winter sucks at my house, if you catch my drift.