If you see things like Superstorms as a creative challenge, it puts a different spin on them, a fresh perspective. Our snow-spewing Northeaster (The Weather Channel has named it Marcus, I call him Pickles) spewed more snow together, and we spent the day battling back.

Maria and I started shoveling and raking early this morning, reinforcements came when Tyler showed up late this afternoon (he has a new snowmobile, he has been out tearing around the pastures) we continue to build a bunch of snow mountains around the house, Maria got up on a ladder and raked the tons of snow off of the back roof.

I am not permitted on ladders, or crawling around rooftops, Maria was quite adamant about it, and I chose not be patronizing or sexist, she is strong, agile and cautious, she knows what she is doing, she did a great job of hauling the snow off of the roof while Tyler shoveled it up into snow hills that one will soon be able to ski on.

The snow is supposed to continue on and off tonight, and tomorrow the frigid air comes in behind it. I found somebody who will sell me seasoned firewood, he is bringing a cord over as soon as the weather clears. That should keep us warm and comfortable into late March. More good news, our heated blanket, something I should have ordered years ago, arrived today, thanks Amazon,  and we are eager to get into a warm bed. In the morning, we will be raking and scraping again, Tyler returns tomorrow after school, if there is school.

I cannot persuade Tyler to wear a hat or jacket in sub-zero weather, he says he just gets too warm. He’s a big boy, he can figure that out for himself. Tyler is a powerful weapon against storms, he works like a fiend and seems tireless. He says I can have a ride on his snowmobile, it goes up to 120 miles an hour. No need to tell Maria about this, I said, she does seem to trust me the way I trust her. “You are not getting on a ladder,” she says, “period.” Okay, period. I was permitted to do some shoveling and raking.