Dusting Upon Dusting

Dearest Rachel –

Supposedly, it’s that time of the year; when the snow falls in such great quantities that it piles up chest-high on either side of the road, especially on the driveways once they’ve been shoveled clear (or at least, mostly clear – one can never quite get all the way down to the concrete, for one reason or another). I still remember how agonizing it was to have to deal with it shortly after the accident, when I didn’t want to do anything, and how there were those that actually meant it when they asked if there was anything they could do for me in the wake of it all. Likewise, having to take Chompers out in the midst of it was an awful experience (and if he’s there with you, he might confirm that even trying to keep himself upright was no picnic, either) that I really don’t wish to have to repeat.

But while it’s every bit as cold as it was in those days – because regardless of what some people say, it keeps getting cold like this every January, just like clockwork – we haven’t had to deal with much in the way of accumulation thus far this year (or should I say “this season,” as we’re barely two weeks into the year thus far?). All we’ve had to face so far are dustings of snow, one on top of another.

But since it isn’t particularly deep, it seems pointless to take the effort to shovel it out of the way. If we had a push broom – and I could swear we did, once upon a time, but it either got cleaned out in the purge, or I haven’t the incentive to check out the garage (which is every bit as cold as the outdoors, after all) – I might be able to brush off the current layer off the driveway.

The thing is, this has already happened once before this year (okay, this past week – it’s basically the same thing). Snow fell – or maybe it was rain first – and froze to the ground. Like with this accumulation, it would have been generous to call it even an inch, and with it sticking so well to whatever surface it landed upon, it was even less worthwhile to try to clear. A broom wouldn’t move it, and a shovel would have been pointless overkill, trying to scrape it off the concrete. So it stayed… kind of, as there’s been just enough warmth and sunlight in between for some of it to melt in some places.

But not all. And so this second dusting, even if pushed aside, would reveal another layer beneath it that has decided it isn’t going anywhere. Meanwhile, the car can easily drive over both layers – again, they still barely amount to an inch of cover – so who or what would I be clearing this stuff of for in the first place? No one’s going for a pleasure stroll in this frozen chill, and if you’re going to talk about the postman, well… I’m not the only one arriving at this conclusion, and he only brings bills and junk mail, anyway. At least he’s getting paid for his trouble.

Still, it does occur to me that, if this cycle repeats long enough, it could get problematic. An inch here, an inch there, and pretty soon, you have a foot – which still doesn’t sound like much, especially if everything rises equally on this platform of snow. But no matter how tightly packed it is, snow isn’t concrete. You don’t get the same level of purchase trying to roll out over it. And it’s not as if it is distributed equally – the public works teams sees to it that the streets are clear, after all, which just leads to a larger drop from driveway to street. It’s all still doable, of course – provided you’re not overly concerned about your car’s suspension – but how many layers will it take before it’s too much to deal with?

Given our own habits – and the fact that we’re not required to go anywhere if we so choose – we boys can deal with this better than most. But sooner or later, there’s going to be a point where these accumulated layers – assuming they continue to accumulate like this – will get to be too much. Ignore it long enough, and it’s actually going to become a serious problem, bigger than we can deal with.

Then again, even an inch per week won’t add up to a foot before the end of March, at which point, things are likely to warm up and run off. And on the other hand, at some point, we’re likely to get a serious dumping upon by the heavier clouds, which will leave us with no choice but to get out and dig ourselves out. Such has been the way of every winter here since time immemorial.

Still, it’s an amusing thought experiment to see if we can continue to ignore this dusting upon dusting. And for now, it isn’t as if there’s much to be done; if it’s not dealt with immediately, it practically becomes part of the landscape – which, after twenty-four hours, it has been. So for now, we are literally stuck with the situation at hand, and I’m fine with it. At the same time, we’ll have to see how much more we’ll get yet, and how much we’ll be able to endure.

Until then, though, honey, keep an eye on us, and wish us luck. We’re going to need it.