It's been a ferocious week for weather, last weekend there was heavy snow, then it was extremely cold, then there was a day of high winds causing snowdrifts. This weekend started with pulling the Element out of a drift in the driveway and then pulling the Beetle in from the street where it too was stuck in a drift.
Last weekend the laneway had been clear to the bend, we backed the Toyota up to that point and slid bags of shavings down the hill from there. The snow then drifted and by yesterday morning it looked like this:
When I got back from the weekly trip to the dump, I collected the chains from the tractor dealer and thought I would throw them on and tackle the laneway. I then discovered that installing chains is a bastard job involving hooking the long link behind the short one by pushing very hard while braced against nothing at all because everywhere is sheet ice. There's also a link of the inside which involves the same procedure but with the bonus of laying in the snow under the tractor.
Luckily the son of the neighbours came by to collect the mail we've been accumulating for them (while they are, sensibly, wintering in Texas). He has extensive experience of chains and a rich vocabulary complementary to mine. Between us we got it done but, by then, it was nearly two o'clock.
A mere five hours later the laneway was again open to traffic.
There, now anyone inclined to bounce on the trampoline and watch the horses run can do so.
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