hoffywhf
- Dec 14, 2010
- 3 min read

Jason, Good Canadian

As everyone knows Jason is from Canada. Jason has adapted quite well to life in the south and he has even developed a southern accent (much more noticeable than mine, the native southerner). The one area in which Jason fails as a southerner is his response to snow. It must be ingrained in him from all of his years in Canada, because when it snows Jason has to do something. This instantly gives him away as being non-native.

Actually as I mentioned in my last post we southerners do something in response to snow – rush to the grocery store. As far as doing something about the snow itself, well we generally do nothing. I’ve never owned a snow shovel in my life because it would never occur to me to shovel snow. Why bother when it is going to melt anyway? Schools are closed, anyone who thinks they can get away with it doesn’t go to work, and snow is generally cause for a holiday. We eat all of the junk food we bought at the grocery store, go outside and play in the snow for a bit, snuggle under a blanket and watch movies and wait for the snow to melt. This generally does not take much waiting.

Not Jason. As soon as Jason saw snow in the forecast he didn’t rush to the grocery store but instead dashed off to the feed store. Why on earth would he do that are you asking me? It isn’t to get feed, we are well stocked, but to get bags of loose salt for the driveway.

The day it was supposed to start snowing (possibly up to two whole inches) Jason says to me “I’m going to do a pre-emptive salting of the driveway.” It isn’t even snowing yet and he already has to get out there and do something! I just said “ok” as it seemed to be really important to him. Whatever makes him happy.

Then it finally started snowing (they had already closed the schools before the first snowflake hit the ground) and Jason says “I’m going to go put more salt on the driveway.” Ok Jason, knock yourself out. The next day after the snow had stopped the driveway was clear enough to safely travel up and down the hill without 4WD. This however was not satisfactory to Jason. He went out and put more salt on the steep parts so they would be perfectly clear and dry. He talks a lot about “bare and dry” when it comes to addressing driving surfaces after it has snowed. For anyone not counting we’re up to three trips salting the driveway now.

Today he proudly pointed out to me that the entire driveway was clear. For anyone who has been to the farm you know there is a LOT of driveway around here between the barn and the two houses. I didn’t have the heart to point out to Jason that the parts of the driveway that hadn’t received any salt at all. (not the pre-emptive salting, the while-it-was-snowing salting, or the post-snow salting) were also perfectly clear. Because it had melted. I think it would have crushed him.

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I always take a lot of snow pictures. I think it is because everything looks so different with snow for a background. Here are a few of the 15 million snow pictures that I took.

Lightening and Noble were playing while it snowed