So, here we are, early in 2018.
While our area gets cold, we don't get the really cold, the cold of Montana and eastward.
Where we are, in North Idaho, 30 miles from Canada, we are in a bowl of a valley. That's why we wind up with mostly overcast days in the winter. We are also pretty well protected from the strong blizzard kinds of winds and the weather patterns that are causing the conditions in Montana eastward, a parked high-pressure system that steers that super cold weather up and over this area and into Montana and eastward.
We are into, what is usually some of the coldest weather of the year for this area, for a normal year!
When was the last of those, normal years, thanks to climate change, whether from natural cycles or what's been changed by human expansion?
Anyway, since before Christmas the area has been lows in the 8 to 10-degree (F) range (-13 C to -12 C) with highs in the upper teens to low 20's (-6 C or so).
As mentioned the last post, we'd even gotten a good amount of snow, around four feet total so far which is a bit much for this time of year. What was normal once, was around six feet of snow with more or less around three feet or so of snow on the ground for much of the winter.
At home, I found that I had not kept up with adjusting the pulley belt of the snow thrower and consequently just when I needed it most, I needed a new belt for it! Of course, when you need it NOW, good luck getting one!
So I called Sears first, where we'd bought the "CX Series" Snow Thrower, three years ago, and the guy at the store said the slot that "might have been" the belt for our thrower was empty. With no luck there I called our area auto parts places, also no luck as if there might be a belt that could work, it was too long.
I, of course, ordered exactly what was needed from Amazon but since this was just before Christmas there was an estimated longer than normal delay in delivery, and, as I mentioned above, I now needed the parts, like yesterday!
Of course, since I couldn't clear the snow it kept falling for over three days straight, getting deeper, and deeper.
At home that meant our truck needed to make its own path through the building snow if we went anywhere. We started having some almost getting stuck areas in our driveway, even in 4 wheel drive, and then even in 4-wheel low gears too.
By now the snow was too deep to be able to clear it with our old method, our Polaris quad with the snow plow blade attached. Too deep to even attempt that method.
I had to dig out, getting stuck in the driveway out front by the street. Then we both got stuck by the house, just no traction in the inches of soft powder snow. We spent an hour and a half digging out that time.
The next day, Friday the 29th, I called a couple of places I had not called before. I lucked out!!
The Car Quest Auto parts store had a belt that was the width and just a fraction bigger, so I asked them to hold it I'd be right down! It was a bargain too at ten dollars. The exact replacement belt was twenty-one dollars on Amazon.
The next morning, 12/30/17, Stacy and I bundled up since it was 13 degrees (-10 C) and started the job of changing out the old and installing the new temporary auger belt so I could use the thrower again until the correct part came from the Amazon order.
It only took three hours since I not done this job before and much had to be taken apart to swap the belts. But we ultimately got it all back together with numerous breaks to warm our hands in the very cold weather in the garage.
I got the motor running, and it worked! I had full power for the auger and throwing snow again with the new belt. Then it was the job of making the first pathway all around the driveway, mostly over two feet with a couple of places over three feet deep!
While our area gets cold, we don't get the really cold, the cold of Montana and eastward.
Where we are, in North Idaho, 30 miles from Canada, we are in a bowl of a valley. That's why we wind up with mostly overcast days in the winter. We are also pretty well protected from the strong blizzard kinds of winds and the weather patterns that are causing the conditions in Montana eastward, a parked high-pressure system that steers that super cold weather up and over this area and into Montana and eastward.
We are into, what is usually some of the coldest weather of the year for this area, for a normal year!
When was the last of those, normal years, thanks to climate change, whether from natural cycles or what's been changed by human expansion?
Anyway, since before Christmas the area has been lows in the 8 to 10-degree (F) range (-13 C to -12 C) with highs in the upper teens to low 20's (-6 C or so).
As mentioned the last post, we'd even gotten a good amount of snow, around four feet total so far which is a bit much for this time of year. What was normal once, was around six feet of snow with more or less around three feet or so of snow on the ground for much of the winter.
At home, I found that I had not kept up with adjusting the pulley belt of the snow thrower and consequently just when I needed it most, I needed a new belt for it! Of course, when you need it NOW, good luck getting one!
So I called Sears first, where we'd bought the "CX Series" Snow Thrower, three years ago, and the guy at the store said the slot that "might have been" the belt for our thrower was empty. With no luck there I called our area auto parts places, also no luck as if there might be a belt that could work, it was too long.
I, of course, ordered exactly what was needed from Amazon but since this was just before Christmas there was an estimated longer than normal delay in delivery, and, as I mentioned above, I now needed the parts, like yesterday!
Of course, since I couldn't clear the snow it kept falling for over three days straight, getting deeper, and deeper.
At home that meant our truck needed to make its own path through the building snow if we went anywhere. We started having some almost getting stuck areas in our driveway, even in 4 wheel drive, and then even in 4-wheel low gears too.
By now the snow was too deep to be able to clear it with our old method, our Polaris quad with the snow plow blade attached. Too deep to even attempt that method.
I had to dig out, getting stuck in the driveway out front by the street. Then we both got stuck by the house, just no traction in the inches of soft powder snow. We spent an hour and a half digging out that time.
The next day, Friday the 29th, I called a couple of places I had not called before. I lucked out!!
The Car Quest Auto parts store had a belt that was the width and just a fraction bigger, so I asked them to hold it I'd be right down! It was a bargain too at ten dollars. The exact replacement belt was twenty-one dollars on Amazon.
The next morning, 12/30/17, Stacy and I bundled up since it was 13 degrees (-10 C) and started the job of changing out the old and installing the new temporary auger belt so I could use the thrower again until the correct part came from the Amazon order.
It only took three hours since I not done this job before and much had to be taken apart to swap the belts. But we ultimately got it all back together with numerous breaks to warm our hands in the very cold weather in the garage.
I got the motor running, and it worked! I had full power for the auger and throwing snow again with the new belt. Then it was the job of making the first pathway all around the driveway, mostly over two feet with a couple of places over three feet deep!
Above: The morning of 12/29/17, I'd kicked a boot path to the garage to work on the snow thrower and Alleycat, one of our outside cats, followed me out. Here I took the photo to show the relative depth before starting that day.
Above: 12/29/17, that afternoon, after getting the snow thrower working again, Stacy taking a turn going back towards the house from the street, widening my first pass out to the street. That's how we worked it, after making an initial path it was go back and forth working from that first path widening the path each time. That's the advantage of a thrower over a snowplow, the plow pushes the snow around, a thrower throws it out and away. With snowplows as winter continues, if we had a lot of snow, the roads get narrower as the snow get deeper.
Above: another photo of Stacy taking a turn again clearing the driveway. We still had a lot to do!
Below: Calling it quits for the day on the 29th and we'd cleared a lot with much more to do. We could now get around the house without getting stuck. I worked on the snow all weekend and New Year's day too. By New Year's Day afternoon I felt we'd be good for the week as no heavy snow was in the forecast until Friday the 5th. We did get 2 inches overnight the 2nd to the 3rd.
Above: Last year Stacy had gotten a "Roof Rake" for snow removal from the roofs of houses, garages, etc. It has several sections and gets pretty long, I used the rake on several sections of the roof as well as the roof of our 5th wheel getting some of the heavy snow off. This was what I'd gotten off above the back entrance, and it wasn't even all off as you can see, but it piled up to almost five feet deep in this photo.
Below: Ending this post with two photos taken yesterday, back to work for the first day of the new year. It was actually sunny! Still really cold, a high of 18, but a sunny day. The building had all these long ice sickles the photo below looking more like a stalactite touch all the way to the bottom at the drain gate.
And lastly, above, I liked this angle of the shot of the ice sickles. Just a different view.
Until next time, Tad
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