I love Snowstorm Strategizing, Maria kids me about it, but I’ve had 15 years of upstate snow experience and I am proud of my snow strategies, it is one of the most fun things for me about living here. First, I rush to the hardware store and buy something – anything, so long as it’s snow related.A new shovel, a car scraper and brush, some dog-friendly salt, new gloves, de-icers, roof scrapers – I just have to get something.

We make sure there is milk and food, we stack firewood, we locate the candles. The barn cats go into the basement., we put water in the coop – chickens won’t come out if they can’t see the ground. We pull out a bale of second cut hay, which gives the animals a bit more energy and nourishment for cold weather. If it’s really cold, we put out some grain.

Then, I study the weather maps and forecasts. More than five inches is a storm to me, I put the wipers up so they won’t get covered in ice, I put the shovels by the back door, I position the cars at the top of the driveway facing out so Vince, our extremely capable plow man can come rushing up the driveway and clear it out. Later we move the cars so he can come by on his way home and finishing clearing.

In the morning, as the storm clears, we first feed the animals, clear a path to the barn. We shovel out the manure in the barn as they will all be inside for much of the day, and there will be a lot of manure. I shovel the snow off of the cards, let the engine run, scrape some snow off the roof, make sure the gutters are clear and not frozen or clogged with snow.

I put the wet and frozen pair of gloves and my Carhartt snow jacket by the stove. Time to write. I am a good snow strategist, organized and efficient. Next one scheduled for Thursday. Winter has decided to live on and not vanish. Makes me happy.