I'm sitting in my office watching the snow falling outside. It has been snowing all day. I measured three inches this morning at around 10 o'clock, and I think we may have had another two or three since then. I've had the scanner on this afternoon and the roads are very slippery. The temperature is falling - right now my thermometer is reading 25 degrees. The snow seems to be letting up a little, but according to the forecast it will continue mostly through tomorrow and then by Saturday turn to a nasty mix of freezing rain.

The workers who were adding winterization to our house have completed the job and left soon after lunch. We've tightened up some spots that were leaking air and replaced a door that was old, warped and not at all weather tight, in spite of our seasonal wrap with plastic and masking tape. That was the door that had Woody's door in it, so now he has a new access into the garage instead of the basement. No more critters inside our house! Except Woody, of course!

We haven't had the usual amount of snow this winter, and by using the snow blower, the banks along our driveway don't get very high, so if a car begins to slip when navigating up or down our drive, there's really nothing to keep it from going off the pavement. If we slip off on the north side, it isn't a big drop except right near the mailbox; on the south side is a very different story. The bank is steep there except at the very top, and once a vehicle begins to pull off on that side, it's pretty much all over.

It was on the south side that one of our neighbors went off one night a few weeks ago, and it was on the south side that Bill Rossi went off today. Bill came to deliver some ice-out tickets, and couldn't get all the way up the drive because the contractors had two vehicles and a van parked near the house. When he went to back down out of the driveway, he got a little too far over the edge and off the pavement and then there was nothing he could do but wait for the car to stop. The first picture below is with Fred shoveling out behind the car to see if there was a chance of getting it out; then our neighbor, Henretta stopped to offer any assistance she could, but by then Fred was already thinking "wrecker."









Next, Jack LaGue came by and gave it a try, but without any success. I had already called Mike Cookson in Cabot to come with his wrecker. Mike was on another call, so it was about an hour later when he arrived, and by then Bill had gone home with Jack to get dry clothes on after wading around in the snow, so Fred worked with Mike and they were able to easily winch the car out onto the road.









Nothing was damaged, and it all turned out ok. I guess we should put up a guard rail or something along that side of the driveway. Trouble is, then a car that slides into it is going to get damaged, and the way it is now, the only thing damaged is the driver's pride - and pocketbook, if it's necessary to get a wrecker.

It's always impressive how many people stop in a situation like that and offer to help, though.

Woody has hung out in the closet in our bedroom most of the day until the workmen left. He has been very skittish with the noise and all the comings and goings, and we were afraid he'd bolt again, so were happy he found a hideout. It was cold, snowy and windy most of the day, so not a good day for a kitty to be caught outside. Tonight I'm sure he's thinking "life is good again" - the house is quiet, he has food to snack on, plenty of fresh water to dip his paw in and lick, and in a little while a lap (mine) to curl up in. In the meantime, he's stretched out on the bed in the spare bedroom where Fred is working at his computer.