From "A Snowy Day" to a Colorado Pueblo

As a Children's Librarian, Ezra Jack Keats "A Snowy Day" was always one of my favorite winter books. It describes the delight and adventure of a snowfall from a child's point of view. It is as peaceful and quiet and sweet as the snow falling outside right now. Yesterday the neighborhood kids were outside sledding down snow covered hills and coming inside for hot chocolate.
Of course, as an adult, there is another side to a snowy day; driving on slick roads, walking through slushy parking lots, and of course, clearing the snow from the steps, driveway and sidewalk. Today, I'm the adult. And I was outside with other adults, all busy clearing snow. I'm not complaining. We've had a relatively light snowfall and it is a dry snow so clearing it isn't all that hard. However, underneath that light, dry snow it is slick. Somehow we managed to go from pouring rain to snow in a matter of an hour and the quickfreeze left the sidewalks icy under a cover of powder.

Over the years I've discovered there are different shoveling patterns for myself and my neighbors. Chuck is an early riser. I will never be able to wake up before he has his driveway, sidewalk, and steps shoveled and the salt sprinkled. While the rest of us play catch up all day, his place will remain clear of snow. Mike has been known to pull out the snowblower at night before going to bed in hopes that in the morning it will still be clear or at least he won't have as much to shovel. I, on the other hand, am usually the last one out. I don't have to go to work and I don't have to get kids off to school. So I generally make an appearance somewhere around 9:00AM as long as it looks like it has stopped snowing.

Today I was surprised to see I was the first one out. It is Saturday so it was obvious why the others weren't out yet, (although, it is rare that Chuck doesn't have his driveway done by 6:00AM). I was right on time; 9:00AM. I could have pulled the snowblower out, but if there isn't that much I prefer to do it by hand. I don't often get to walk on days like this because it is too slick underfoot, so the shoveling becomes my exercise. Mike and Chuck appeared shortly after.

As we worked I couldn't help notice that as the others worked, their lines looked so much neater than mine. The snow always spills out over the edge of my shovel leaving a nice little snow wall behind. Then I have to go back and clean up the little wall. I've tried different techniques, but I still get the line of snow edging where I just went, meaning each lane of snow I clear takes two swipes, not one. That doesn't seem to happen to them. Today there is one reason for this. Yesterday they were both out clearing the first covering that came along, so they were working with less to begin with. But just as the 'grass always seems greener'... to me, their snow always looks neater. It brought to mind those old Pueblo villages where each family built their own house. (Can you see how my mind rolls in circles as I do mindless tasks?)

If you go to visit Mesa Verde outside Durango, Colorado you can visit an old Pueblo village built in the Colorado cliffs. It is a fascinating place, but you will learn that they didn't have master builders. Each family built their own house. You can clearly see how some houses are beautifully built, and others clumsily put together. I'm pretty sure, if we were living in those times, Chuck's house would be perfectly put together before most of us began, and as the sun set I would be mixing the mud to hold my bricks together trying to copy his craftsmanship. I also know if we were to be transported back to that time that Mike and Chuck would come to my aid straightening my leaning walls. They do that now when we have a heavy snowfall. Come to my aid, that is. Good neighbors in any age are good to have. (An aside here: The pattern since we moved here was that if we got a good snowfall, Larry was always in Minneapolis. It has become my mantra. He is home now, but I see a heavy snow coming around the end of January.)

A postscript before I close. When I finished the top of the drive I noticed the bottom was covered in white. My hat was wet when I took it off. The snow had begun to fall again. But that's how we do it in Pittsburgh. A litttle snowfall each day. It might not keep the doctor away, but it does provide the exercise, and an optimum chance for the mind to roam.