Coping with snow

We had snow. Then rain. Then snow. Rain, snow, snow, snow. The sky cleared. I went out this afternoon, and forced the car down the driveway, and along the street, through snow above the bumper line.

Went to buy snow shovel. Had to buy a kid's one; all the stores are sold out of the big ones.

I managed to get down to Tyee Spit just before sundown, and found a flock of mallards, happy in their still-liquid water.

Umpteen mallards, one widgeon.

Showoff! Mallards start their courtship rituals early.

Mallards in the parking lot. They mostly walk on the snow. I sunk through, and ended up with wet feet; it's thawing underneath.

At home, I used the shovel to dig out a parking spot on the street, with the help of a friendly neighbour. (Thanks!) Even packed down after the alternate wetting and freezing, the snow was 10 inches deep. And heavy.

Then I dug my way up to my front door, up a long, steep driveway. Ate a quick supper, and fell sound asleep until midnight. Shovelling snow is hard work!

(Edited to add: the snowplow came by, finally, while I was eating supper. It piled snow up against my car, so I'll have to dig it out again in the morning.)