Day 23 -- Digging out from under the snow

Early in the morning, I had waded through knee- to mid-thigh deep snow in my yard to get out to the street. The sidewalk plough was out but hadn't gotten to our street yet. It was very slow slogging for me and for the plough operator. I walked up my street and down to Main Street, where the sidewalk was opened just wide enough for two people to pass. It always amazes me to see this corridor cleanly sliced out of the solid pile of such deep snow. As I went up the hill to cross the bridge, I discovered that there was no walkway there. Now, my street is wide and not too busy, so walking on the road wasn't too tricky. Here, there is a major convergence of traffic and a narrower area due to the bridge. Thankfully, it is a short distance. I was out on the edge of the road hoping no transport trucks were going to appear. The snow thrown by the street plough was well above my waist, so there really was no where I could go except into that pile where I'd be lost until Spring <smile>. When I headed back home in early afternoon, there was amazing sunshine and the plough had completed clearing the bridge walkways.

I've seen a similar phenomenon many times. Resiliency and perseverance. For example, an ants' nest is disturbed or exits are covered over. Within minutes, the ants emerge out from under the dirt and begin scurrying around getting things back in a workable fashion. As I was walking down Main Street today, this visual filled my mind. Ploughs, loaders and back hoes had been busy since early morning carving out pathways to re-establish some semblance of transportation for vehicular flow and foot traffic. People were now out going about their business -- far more than had been out earlier in the day. Businesses were reopening after early closures yesterday. As I got back to my street, the plough hadn't yet been there, but there was activity along the street as walkways were being cleared. I spent 2 hours getting a shovel wide path to the general location of the sidewalk and around the side of the house to the back door. My shovelling duo arrived and cleaned out the pile left by the street plough which was over my waist. Someone with a snow blower was clearing the next door driveway and blew all the sidewalk clear in front of that house, leaving a pile taller than me at the edge of my driveway. Some people really don't think sometimes, but generally people were very considerate. Two young men up the street were trying to shovel out the end of their driveway as I went by this morning. A fellow with a plough blade on his truck drove up the street, pushed the snow out for them and didn't expect any payment -- just doing a good thing.  Another neighbour called me to say they'd found someone with a snow blower who did a good job for them and wanted me to know he could likely do both our drives the next time the snow falls. All very cool behaviours that made me smile.

Today's selection has made the rounds before, but it just reminded me of the work by multiple people all moving towards freeing us all from the confines of this blasted snow. <smile> Enjoy!

Working together as a team -- Som Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain