• Monday-What'sUP December 1 - 09:56 pm

When you spend the winter in the Keweenaw, you have plenty of time to give thought to different ways of moving the snow around without hurting your back. When it comes to clearing off the deck, you have limited options, though. You can't get a plow up there, a snow blower is equally difficult to maneuver in that small an area and if you use a shovel you have to worry about scratching the deck wood.

Enter into the picture, snowbirds from Lac La Belle, who've moved south for the winter, to Houghton that is. Bill Haller snapped these shots of his wife, Eloise using quite the unique method of blowing the snow off their deck. Yes, that IS a leaf blower she's using - easy on the back and the wood, yet it gets the job done as you can see. Bill says, she's in training with the smaller model, accumulating hours towards qualifying for the six foot wide "real" snowblower that they use for their 450' driveway run. And you thought a leaf blower was something you could only use a few weeks a year.

That is one way, but I'm still using the shovel and snow scoop. We got about 6 inches overnight down here just south of the Mac bridge, and are expecting another 5 to 8 inches today.

I used to always use a leaf blower when we lived in Red Jacket to clear the driveway when we picked up a quick couple inches of fluffy snow. It used to do a great job and saved fuel in the snowblower. However, the leaf blower does not work on wet, heavy snow or deeper snow as it usually just blows back on your driveway/deck.

Down here, the leaf blower gets used as a leaf blower or grass clipping blower; I highly doubt it will get used for snow around here.......

We multi task our leaf blower using it to clean the gutters, blow dry the engines of our Harleys, atv, snowmobiles, and the garden tractor after washing/cleaning. Also great for cleaning the cement floors of our machine shed and horse barn. It's a nifty device!

works especially well where just moving the snow is all you need - like on a raised surface... I remember some old pics from Houghton or somewhere up there where they had the raised walkways from the front door. Just blow/push the snow off to the side and it falls right off. anyone have an old pic of that?

Great idea! I'm going to tell my mom. She's out there shoveling their deck off every winter, then come summer, she has to paint it again because the shovel took some of the paint off. Why go through that much work, especially when you're 78 years old? She says it keeps her young. She's probably right. I'm sure that's why yoopers live so long.

My son tried it as jet propulsion on his bicycle. There just wasn't enough thrust to do much more than 3-5 mph on a flat surface.

Some people still have snowalks in use:)

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW ;O)

So is that the Lac LaBelle house or the Houghton house?

Mary says: Take a look back at my notes above: "Enter into the picture, snowbirds from Lac La Belle, who've moved south for the winter, to Houghton that is." That's taken at their home "down south." :->

Thats a good idea. I think winter is here.

Seen that done down here under the bridge. We got about 2 inches of wet snow down here in Ypsilanti and the blower definitely would not work on that.

Hi
I was wondering as to the reason the deck was being cleared; surely they aren't going to go out there for their morning coffee? My guess is that a lot of snow would put extra stress on the structure.

Jeffkel Those elevated walks were a common sight in Calumet when I was a kid ('30&40s). We called them "Calumet Bridges". They made a lot of sense to me. Snow is easier to sweep than to lift with a shovel.

Never fails, just finished raking and bagging
leaves for the last time on Saturday. I mean I got
'em all, out of the gutters, flower beds, from the
bushes. Six large containers placed in front just
waiting for the lawn waste pick up Monday. Cleaned
the lawn mower, ran out the gas, used the leaf
blower to clean out the garage. Finally done!
Thought I'd have a week or so before the snow hit.
Nope.
I work at a local radio station as an announcer on
Sunday mornings so I get up at 5 am. I woke up to
a "winter storm warning" for Sunday and Monday.
It was snowing by the time I got out at noon. And
the Packers lost