December 3, 2019 will be the first time I had to plow this year. Now, I am not sure if that is early, or late but it seems / feels like it is just about right. I am not noting this for any particular reason other than it gives me something to write about. I have noticed that as the years advance and my time here winds down I feel an increasing need to document things. Simple things. Things like the first time I had to plow the driveway for a given season. Back when I first started taking care of this driveway there was no such thing as the internet let alone blogs and such.
Not sure about you, but my driveway is four hundred feet long and climbs steeply. It has always been a bear but things have improved over the thirty plus years I have been dealing with winters gift. For the last fifteen or so years my weapon of choice has bee my little Kubota L235 with a blade on the back. This works well until the piles get too big – then I resort to a blower to throw the snow up and over.
The key to a good seasons plowing is –
- Go gentle if the surface is not frozen solid. Not a problem for me today.
- Plow like this is the only chance you will get to move this first plow well out of the way. Never count on a melt down or thaw.
- Keep the equipment in good shape.
I am not doing so good on the last one. The L235 is ailing going into the season. I have a fairly powerful leak in the right hydraulic on the bucket and my wheels / tires in the rear are shot – the rims are rusted out from calcium chloride leaking out and rusting them. The time to get this fixed up of course would have been last august. Woe is me. Stay tuned.
Tea is done. Time to suit up and plow me some first of the season snow.
