To Plow or Not To Plow

That Was the Question

And I answered it by plowing.

Several sections of the driveway were bare. Several sections had 5" of snow on them.  Some sections are in the shade, more are in the sunshine.

It only took about a half hour to plow out the deeper sections of snow and as I did the warm spring sun appeared. Now the plowed sections will melt thoroughly and my driveway will be clear.

I also plowed the grassy area leading to the barn where Scott, my farrier, parks his trailer when he shoes the Boys. Again, it's hard to tell just how much over 5" of snow would melt on the grass.

The negative side of all of that is that I have now damaged some sections of my lawn. Now, mind you, I don't have the greatest lawn in the world, but digging up the turf with the plow is not good for what's there. I suspect I will have some repair jobs to do when the grass starts to grow or doesn't start to grow again. But as Whitman said, "I am grass, I cover all." Usually the turf grows back. However I may invest in some lawn seed to fill in spaces. Some of that stuff that comes with its own mulch might do the job. And I do have the dirt/turf I plowed across the driveway to fill in.

Trying to plow over grass and dirt is tricky. If the surface is frozen solid as it was for most of the winter, it's not too difficult, but once the thaw sets in, then trying to keep the plow from digging into the dirt is a delicate operation. I didn't do too badly, but there are some definite gouges. Ah well. More yard work to keep me busy.

The Trail into the Woods

Looking at the Barn from the Woods

One View of the Pasture 

Another View of the Pasture

Toby and Chance in a Social "Hay In"

Toby, Enjoying the Sunshine

Tucker in Toby's Stall Looking for Food

 I am hoping these will be the last snow pictures of the season but the forecast does not promise real Spring any time soon. Temperatures are predicted to be below normal for the next few weeks.  The warning is that any precipitation might end up as snow instead of rain and that the weather patterns are very active. 

I bought my Easter outfit already. I hope I don't end up in a turtleneck sweater instead of the top I got. I'm not sure my blazer will go over a sweater. 

The Boys are in their sheets again. I'm glad I put their blankets on for the storm as the snow was wet, heavy and cold--the kind that sticks. So their having that extra insulation was a good move.  They are shedding however, so I will need to get the shedding blade out to do some extra grooming. 

Maybe a layer of horsehair over the snow will make it melt?