It tested the mettle of every snow-moving device in the stable.

The big snowblower seemed incapable of punching through the sticky, easily compacted stuff, so our morning clearing effort was a long and arduous mix of machine and manual labor. (The new shovel performed admirably, btw.) Troubleshooting later, I discovered that the front rotor on the blower had thrown a bolt, and was thus barely functioning. (But that’s all fixed and we are ready for the next bit of weather.)

This evening, a two-hour Zoom chat with the Spaldings in Colorado. They are hunkered down on their mountain top, and are being even more careful than we are. They, like us, are hoping to make it through to vaccine time, but are somewhat chapfallen by the incompetent rollout.