Winter Challenges #1

With the spring sun warming and melting the snow, I should be outside trying to get the David Brown out of the Barn, charging the battery on the Spitfire or otherwise preparing for the fast approaching spring/summer.

However, I'm stuck inside, drugged up, with a rather nasty ear infection, so I'll blog about the winter instead.

It's been a pretty heavy winter. There's been a lot of snow and although it's warming up now, there's still a fair bit left. One of the serious problems that the country faces with heavy snow fall is the weight on the roofs. Most sloped roofs are designed to withstand many tons and, with a little bit of warmth, what's up there slides off (presenting it's own danger). Half of the old barn just up from us has collasped recently.

"What's up there" did all slide off our roof, and all in one go. Not only filling the not long cleared path to the front door with tonnes of heavy and compact snow, but also landing on top of the already heavy car port roof. Something had to be done, it was amazing that it took the impact and additional weight and we couldn't risk any more on top of what was already there.

So, yours truly had no option but to get up there and dig it all off.

Getting up there was more getting out there as the snow was up to the level of the guest room window.

The snow was pretty hard packed so it needed breaking up before it could be pushed/shovelled off.

It wasn't long before I had no more problems retrieving any equipment that happenned to slide off. It was pretty easy to get back up without going through the house!

I can tell you that this was an enourmous, unplanned and physical job. First time in 4 winters that I've had to do it though.