WELL; Farmallkid and Mike Soldan

My drivway is just about 500' from my shop door out back, to the highway. I now have a trail, 20' wide to the highway, with snow piled height of tractor down one side. It took a full tank of gas to keep it that way all week. Sure glad we didn't get hammered like Montreal and Eastern Ontario. I heard one report they got 17" of the white stuff in a one hour period, during that last snow fall.

You mentioned Mike Soldan the other night, and I suggested maybe they might have gotten off lightly as the storm seemed to track south. Well, just look down the YT pages, no Mike Soldan in the past 24. Do you supposed he is burried in a snowbank somewhere up in Exeter. You know traditionally they get it worse than than we do. I went up the next line north from me today, there is definately more snow. That is still 30 miles south of Exeter.

MIKE ARE YOU OUT THERE IN A HURON COUNTY SNOWBANK?

I was in Toronto late Fri. at Listers down on Brown's Line, thought about coming home via QEW and 403, had heard a few rumblings about that Hamilton snow. I got caught once last winter were the empty tractor trailer had trouble getting traction on the mountain. Since I was leaving just about dusk, I decided 401 would be best trip home. With snow piled up on shoulders, and there was melt Fri. afternoon, about 6pm would have been a great time for black ice.

Had to go to a farm north of Embro on the way home, took a gravel side road for ease of turning in to the farm. I could see the gravel road had been plowed in past couple of hours. About 1/2 way through there you would never know it. The wind and drifting snow, I'd never have wanted to stop, it was hitting the bumper of the Mack quite steady. Came back out of there on black top, and loose snow was bad on that route. Rather than going short cut north of London, I hi tailed it back to the 401.

Good to know you are hale and hearty. There is a noticable difference in snow where highway 81 crosses from Petty St, to Townsend Line from what there is here and that is only a mile north of me.

I did work the little tractor quite vicious on a couple different days this week. Yesterday morning it was 2.5 hours of solid plowing. I had to push it all about 45 degrees to drivway. I piled most of it to the east, thinking most of our storms come in from west, with west winds. I'm hoping that windrow of snow will create an updraft and the snow will lodge in corn stalks to the east. I would liked to have pushed it back about 30' from drivway to the west, but there is winter wheat planted there this winter. Didn't want to make ruts in that. Anyhow if another storm comes with an east wind, I'm in trouble. Might have to call the guy with the big snowblower.

Then there is an additional problem for old iron nuts. You either have to maintain two fleets of old tractors, or haul them south in fall and north in spring. I know a couple of guys that have two fleets of tractors, they tell me the cost of security while you are away 5 to 6 months, is starting to hurt. The problem is just as great both in south and north. A certain element of society just can not resist breaking into a shed full of old tractors. These midnight salvage yards do quite well. Just another problem of the old tractor being worth more for parts than as a whole tractor.