Snow Business

Hello! We've gotten a serious amount of snow this month, as in probably around 70". I read somewhere that we might have set an all-time record here for snowfall amount in the month of February.

Most of the snow we get is lake effect, which tends to be fluffy and very light. But get enough of it at a time and it can end up being heavy to move around - especially at driveway aprons after the snowplows have come through. The stuff that gets kicked up by the plows is packed down, making it more difficult to get out of the driveway. 

And occasionally, like today, we'll get a snowstorm that comes up from the south, which meant the heavy, wet stuff. And of course that meant that the snow that got plowed by the road crew was like concrete to move. 

As chief snow shoveler in the family, I had gotten weary of shoveling out those heavy piles of snow at our driveway apron (though of course I am always grateful when the snowplows that come through; they do a great job around here!) So a couple of winters ago I bought this:

It's Suncast's "Big Scoop" shovel, and I have found that it excels at blasting away the heavy stuff at the driveway apron, and with less strain on the shoulders and back. This morning, in the amount of time that it would have taken me to tackle our driveway apron with a conventional shovel, I was able to do our driveway and a neighbor's. 

Thus, I'd say that this shovel is a worthwhile purchase for those who don't own snowblowers. Of course, it could be used for the whole driveway, not just the end, but I happen to live in a neighborhood of narrow lots. Consequently, the Big Scoop is too awkward to navigate on most of our driveway. That's okay; it's earned its keep for how I use it! 

I bought the Big Scoop while visiting the other side of the state, so I don't know if it's available in this area. You can find more information on it HERE, though. 

(I should add that this is an unsolicited testimonial from me.)