Well, I thought it was interesting....

This winter has been pretty good in the snow department. My favorite time of winter is when snow is actually falling. I don't particularly like the cold and after the snow has fallen and the sun comes out it is very pretty but... eh, not really interested. Falling snow? I LOVE IT! I would like it to snow -all- -of- -the- -time-. That would be a lot of snow but I would not mind. (I'm envious of Valdez Alaska. Double digit foot snowfalls!) The world is magical when snow is in the air, night or day. After a night of heavy snowing everything looks great outside but I am so disappointed because it snowed AT NIGHT! When I was asleep. Someone should invent a snow DVR so that I can watch it snow later, at a more convenient time.

We live on Eric Circle. It's a circle. A cul-de-sac. Graders come around after a good snow and push it all into a big mound in the middle of the circle. It doesn't get so tall as much as it gets wide. As in diameter. Soon, after quite a few snows, the driving in the circle gets to be a one laner. Ze other day the city cleaned out the circle. The first time this year and most likely the last the way budgets are these days. Usually I have seen a front end loader clear the snow working with ze dump trucks but a few days ago was different. It was way better.

First, this cool multi-position front blade grader-thingy attacked the mountain of snow "stretching" it into a long line down the road from the circle. It took a long time to reshape all that snow into a berm. I was so engrossed watching that I didn't think to record the event for posterity until almost the end of the entire process! You're fortunate to see the tail end, you know you are. Believe me, there was A LOT of snow there to begin.

Second, a huge snow blower came in gobbling and gobbling. Gobbling and spitting out snow into dump trucks! I love snow-blowing our driveway after a good snow. Actually, I really like snow-blowing DURING a good snow. I like seeing the stark and self-evident results of my work. I like seeing that I've actually done something and it looks good. I feel the same way mowing grass. So, the snow blower was HUGE! And POWERFUL! I've seen them working in the streets but this is the first for our little cul-de-sac. Need I say I was ENTHRALLED?

Video #1

While waiting for the next truck the guy would tidy up putting the over-spray back into the center.

Video #2

The push grader is a nice piece of equipment, much better, and cooler looking than the graders that have the blade in the middle under the carriage. Yes, I know it is a front end loader with a blade instead of a bucket. That's the point!

Video #3

Look at the size of the augers when he turns around! I wouldn't want to get mixed up in those!

The result... a nice, clean cul-de-circle.

Two days later it snowed another 8 inches.