My heart is overflowing with gratitude and let me tell you why. Do you remember the record amount of snow that we received last winter? Yes, my first winter here at the cabin was a gorgeous winter wonderland. However, there was one small challenge… I did not own a snowblower and although I do own a quad and a plow, at the time I did not have the ‘know-how’ to put the two together in a functional way. So last winter, I shoveled. Yes… by hand. There was a handful of times when my lovely neighbor, P, across the street swooped in with his snowblower to give me a hand on the heaviest snowfall days (or when I was away) but otherwise, I insisted on doing it myself.

I actually do enjoy shoveling. I use this large, light aluminum shovel (pictured below) which makes it easy to push snow around. I often lose myself in the chore and catch myself making dump truck noises. The other bonus is that shoveling keeps me in great shape (that and the daily cross country skiing).

This Autumn, my neighbors, B and his son M, who live just up the road, volunteered to come and attach the plow to the quad for me (pictured at the top of this post). They helped me charge the battery, put air in the tires and showed me how to check the oil. They even put a hitch on the back (one of their own that they were no longer using) so that I can now pull my trailer around on the property.

The first time I used the plow I was amazed at how quick and easy it was to plow the driveway, which is quite large. I even plowed the road leading to the back of the property and the wood-chopping area. Amazing!

As you can see below, I will still be getting a fantastic shoveling work out as I still have the walkway and large front deck to shovel by hand. There is also a large deck out back that I like to keep clear. However, now with the help of the quad, the task of clearing snow will not be so daunting on days like today when there is a significant snowfall. Welcome, snow!!! Bring it on!!!

I am so grateful for the neighborly help, from all of my neighbors who keep a eye on this girl and help me in so many different ways. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such kind, thoughtful and knowledgeable people. In return, I look forward to finding ways that I can be of help to them as we continue to live our lives out here at the lake.