Friday, February 11, 2011

Hot Foot

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" *



I donned my cold-weather gear early this afternoon and went out to clear the snow from the area leading to my mail box.  The twelve-foot walk on the north side of the house is covered by a deep roof overhang. Because of the wind, the walk had almost as much snow on it as did the open yard.  The only disturbances to the blown snow, other than for a few tiny bird tracks, were the deep imprints of the postman's footwear, which had crushed and melted the snow all the way down to the concrete. However, the bitter cold had frozen these footprints into size 13 chunks of ice about a half inch thick.  The broom I was using moved the snow easily, but didn't begin to budge the icy reminders of the postman's visit.

My gardening tools include shovels of several sorts but no flat blade shovel, which is what I really needed.  As a substitute, I selected a gardening hoe and used it to chip away at the icy footprints.  It took me a good fifteen minutes to get the tracks broken up and swept away.  I worked up a sweat, and have definitely had my exercise for the day.

The next time I see my postman, I'm going to ask him if he wore heated socks during this most recent snow storm. If he did not, he's got the hottest feet in the country!

* Note:  The quotation is NOT the official creed/motto of the United States Postal Service, although it is often referred to as such.  I learned that from our good buddies at Wikipedia, in this article.

Tomorrow is also a day.

7 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Pat, I always thought that quote did come from the post office. Interesting!!!

I did the same thing today, Pat, on my deck (which is in the shady part of the yard). The deck was still full of snow --and the only footprints on it were my husband's... The snow swept off easily except where he had walked..I just left those patches --and will just let them melt all on their own.

But---I can promise you that he didn't have heated socks on. I've never heard of them....Bet they would feel good to those working outdoors in this horribly cold weather.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the warm-up.
Hugs,
Betsy

George said...

There have been times when I wish I had heated socks, but I've never had any. Now that I'm retired I either stay inside or come in when my feet start getting cold.
I try to clear our driveway before anything drives on it or anyone walks on it. The ice tracks are a real pain to get rid of. I hope you can relax for the rest of the day.

Richard Lawry said...

I've been needing these socks all week! :)

An Arkies Musings

Arkansas Patti said...

My mail carrier drives so I have icy tire tracks to deal with.
Each year, I swear I will get a pair of those socks. They look marvelous.

StitchinByTheLake said...

I'm thrilled to know Cabela's has those socks! I've wanted some forever. :) I'll be marking that spot in their catalog when I did it out of my husband's chairside basket of reading material. blessings, marlene

Carolina said...

Heated socks?!?

I could do with heated gloves ;-)

Marvin said...

One good thing about not having any sidewalks, driveway or other hard surface is that I don't have to shovel/remove snow. We just tromp paths through the yard.

I walked up to our mailbox (1 1/4 mile) a week or so ago. Hoping to drive out (and on into town) by Monday.