Is it Wrong??

to wistfully covet your snow shovels ???

I have spent most of today outside shoveling snow ... shoveling our driveways and sidewalks at home ... shoveling the sidewalk in front of the office ... shoveling the sidewalk in front of the vacant lot where the church once stood ... and I even did a bit of shoveling at the library when I stopped by at lunch time ...

I feel like I've been to the gym ... my arms and legs have had a great work out and I feel good. I've shoveled hundreds of kilos of snow over the course of the day, and walking from here to there and back again has been a work out in and of itself ...

But, I can't help thinking how important a good snow shovel is on days like this ... The two shovels pictured here are my favourites ... The one on the right is the big shovel for clearing the snow quickly ... but when the snow gets packed down and heavy, I shift to the shovel on the left. It serves well to clean out the end of the drive way after the plough has been by. Both shovels have their role, and today they were called on to assist in moving a heroic amount of snow from our driveway and sidewalks ...

Both are plastic with metal blades on the underside. Both cut through the thickest snow quickly and easily. And both are the right length for heaving the snow up and over the growing snow banks that quickly line sidewalks and driveways ... I really like my snow shovels ...

A good snow shovel makes all the difference in the world ... and even today when my environmentalist sensitivities where stretched to the breaking point and I was found myself thinking about how much easier it would be with a snowblower, my shovels came through and reminded me why I actually like shoveling snow:

It is a good work out ...
it's outside ...
it's rewarding (you can see what you've done) ...
it gives you a sense of accomplishment (providing the snow has stopped falling)
and it is just plain fun ...

But if you have the wrong shovel - it can and is often a nightmare ... So, here's to a good snowshovel ... and here's to the first winter snow storm of the season ... the 14-18cms of snow (6inches) that has fallen so far haven't stopped my shovels yet ...