The Old Folks Home

[perchie.girl]

hoe cakes for me

Corn meal HOT HOT water mixed in till it forms a dough ball. Then form it into balls and flatten with your fingers about half inch thick.... then fry in bacon grease

deb

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Spent the morning channeling Vehve. About 2 hours to snowblow and shovel the animals out, the front door and the water spigot.

 

[vehve]

Are those snowblowers worth their cost?

 

[bruceha2000]

Depends on how much they cost, how much snow you have to move, how often you have to do it, how high and solid the plow banks across your driveway are!

Skip the little electric "snow brooms". If they can move the snow, you can sweep it faster. No snow blower at the old house, driveway was paver stones and only the surface area of 3 cars, the steps to the house ended at the driveway. A couple of inches of light stuff would be handled with a push broom, anything higher or wetter usually with a pushing shovel. The plow banks need a stronger shovel you can shove down on the top so it splits apart, then shoveled from the side with a lifting shovel. The best plan for a lot of snow was to get out and shovel every 3-4" so it never got to be too much. Of course the plow comes when the plow comes. Best to get that out ASAP so it can't freeze into a block of ice. For a not huge area, a mid sized blower would be fine, the snow plow banks are the hardest part. The size of the blower needed is more related to how fast you want to clear it and how far you have to move it.

At this house, no Bruce powered blower because I have a garden tractor to mow with. I got a 50" blower with an electric winch to lift it for the "tractor". The parking area would probably fit 20 cars and has a surface of compacted small rocks. The walk up slope to the door we use to get in the house has big flat rocks with small stone between, probably 50/50 stone/rocks. That is either swept with the push broom or shoveled. The "walk" to the steps to the other door to the enclosed porch (in winter it is only used to bring cord wood, I have room for about 2 cords on the porch) is the same material, nearly level and ends at steps to a landing. It is blown but not too close to the surface or I'd pick up the stones. The "path" down to the barn is grass. I blow that but I have to make a cul de sac in the barnyard beyond to turn around. The tractor doesn't back up a slope with the heavy blower hanging off the front.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Are those snowblowers worth their cost?

Depends. I have a very large area to clear after each storm. Depending on the amount of snow and how heavy the snow is I may or may not break out the blower. The blower sucks to use when it's really windy, too, because the snow blows right back in your face. Sometimes it's easier and faster just to use a snow scoop to move the snow. If it's really thick, heavy or particularly high, I break out the blower. Today, with a foot of light snow, I broke the blower out. I find the scoop much easier to maneuver but more than 8 inches or so and I start running out of places to scoop the snow to.

I had a smaller snow blower up until last season. It broke, luckily when BF was in charge of clearing the snow, and he went out and bought a large 2 foot width really powerful blower. That one is much faster at clearing the snow.

It is also fun when you snow blow frozen turds. They're like little fecal bullets.

Edited to add: Bruce is absolutely right about the plow banks. However, I got a metal roof last summer, and I had no idea the crap coming off the roof (and quickly) is just as snow-cement like as what comes off the plow. My front stoop and water spigot have to be chiseled out a couple times after each storm, when more crap comes off the roof.

 

[ronott1]

We had just barely enough time between storms to let the cement dry out in the layer yard. I scraped up the "mud" and then sprayed with litter life last night. http://www.southlandorganics.com/products/poultry-litter-amendment

The smell was immediately better.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I might need some of that if we don't get above freezing in the next week or so. I don't want to have to use a jackhammer to clean the litter out and it is nastay.

 

[Beer can]

I have the lawn tractor snowblower. I filled the tires with cheap winter windshield wash, take the valve core out and use a pump sprayer with nozzle off to fill. I also added about another 50lbs of plate weights directly on the back with a bolt and washers. And tire chains. You'd think with my 220lbs I wouldn't need the extra, but it sure did help with the backing up.
Three swipes does my driveway, little longer at the end. Even takes care of the deep thick snow by the mailbox. I blow right up to the chicken coop. Only use shovel for back step.

 

[vehve]

Well, all of this seems to fall into what I suspected, the cheap ones don't really help. So maybe I'll stick to my snow shovel. What are the pushy thingies that are 30" wide with a wide handle called in English? That thing works ok but after few hours it gets old really fast.

 

[Latestarter]

Nice looking place you have there @Beer can . Pretty as a Christmas card picture (almost)

I look at it and wonder/ask myself "Are you SURE you want to move to north central KY?" I'm looking to buy a "farm" acreage but don't really like the idea of dealing with vast quantities of snow and prolonged cold.