Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Things I See That You Probably Don't See

On Sunday, I kept checking the conditions out back, wondering how difficult the driving would be should I have to go out, and I saw a sight that you probably don't see when you look out of your window.

A snowmobile parked just outside on the road. The guy got out and walked across the road.

What do you think he saw?

He saw that the snowmobile trail was over there on the other side and that he should be on that trail and not on the road. So he got onboard and drove across the road to where he should have been in the first place.

On Monday, driving was better, and I didn't have to go far anyway. My outing started when Alexa reminded me that I was to pick up Danica at school at 9:45 after her exam. However, when I got to school, she wasn't there because her exam had been set back a day after school was cancelled last Friday. It didn't matter because I had a few other errands to run anyway.

Now, for what I saw out front that you probably don't see where you are — snow and very little road. As I began to back out of the driveway, I could see a pile of snow, but I couldn't see much road and whether vehicles might be approaching.

It was the same looking the other way. There are two piles. One is at the edge of the driveway; the other is between the sidewalk and the road. Actually, it is on the road, making it narrower.

The snow piles present quite a visual barrier, so it is important to ease out gradually and cautiously because you can't see very far up or down the road until you are pretty well on the road.


18 comments:

Marie Smith said...

Some of the intersections here have snow backs and they require caution for sure. I am always scared I’ll have an accident at one, so caution is the word! You have way more snow than we’ve had so far this year though.

DJan said...

Your winter snowfall is pretty massive, to my eyes. Driving while backing up is always scary to me.

William Kendall said...

The snow keeps piling up.

Ed said...

We've had hardly any snow this year due to global warming. I can't imagine how your street might have looked before global warming. You were probably just regularly snowed in for weeks at a time!

Boud said...

We've had zero snow yet. Your snow blind corners are like ours when the corn is high, as an elephant's eye, in adjacent fields. Always a relief when its harvested and the view is restored.

Barbara Rogers said...

Wow, those are sure big piles of snow making obstacles to see anything coming or going. And I wonder what anyone would do if they met another car coming on that narrow plowed road.

Granny Sue said...

My goodness, that's a lot of snow! We wouldn't see a snowmobile either, in fact I have never seen one in operation. One of my sons owned a pair of them, and got use of it for a few years, then our winters kinda dwindled so it made no sense to keep them. He sold the snowmobiles and bought kayaks.

Margaret said...

Are those piles from plowing or from actual snowfall? Sorry for my dumb question.

Celia said...

Just beautiful though, I've really enjoyed your photos. We usually only get a few inches at a time and it often disappears before the next snowfall. Snow all around us here in E Washington, just not much here in our town. I run out and buy groceries before hand and don't drive anywhere. Such a chicken, but I'm 80 and haven't had snow tires in years. :-)

PipeTobacco said...

Hah! Technically, the snowmobile riding folks in my region are NOT legally allowed on the roads, and yet in town there is not room for a snowmobile trail, so we have a lot of scofflaws when the roads are snowy enough.

Until this past weekend, we had the EXTREMELY rare situation of January and NO snow (we had one very odd day of temps well above freezing and rain…. and it washed our snow away). But, a several inch snowfall over the weekend returned our landscape it’s normal white. And, although our curb blockers are not YET as tall as yours…. we likely (usually) get there too….. and you would be surprised how many FOLKS do NOT ease out slowly as you suggest (especially a lot of U kids). Lots of accidents.

PipeTobacco

Debby said...

For once, I am happy that I am not seeing what you're seeing. Although your dawn pictures were wonderful.

PS: WHAT surgery????!! I must have missed something...

RedPat said...

We finally have a few inches of snow but nothing like you guys have been getting. It sure feels cold today.

Red said...

That's a lot of snow to maneuver around.

Tom said...

Just pls. be careful if/when you shovel.

Patio Postcards said...

You definitely have a lot of snow in your area. Does anyone still have their Christmas lights still on - if they do I am sure it looks so pretty with all the snow as a backdrop.

Jeanie said...

I always worry when the snow mountains get too tall around intersections. More than once I've almost been clipped or seen someone get clipped because they can't see around!

MARY G said...

My probably too fancy car has a backup camera. At present there is about six inches of icy snow all over the back of the car - camera, lights, trunk release, all of it. I parked it with its back to the sun (did you see we had sun today?) in hopes of losing some of the ice. We will see. But I probably will still be hanging my head out of the window to back up.
Sure is pretty, though.

Kay said...

OMG! That is a ton of snow!
I know I've been up to my ears with stuff and unable to check on what you all have been up to, but surgery? I missed something here.