“Vacuuming” Snow
We had a lot of snow this winter: each winter storm brought 30 centimeters of the white stuff and we were literally snowed under every time. Fortunately, we had signed up for a snow shoveling service to clear the driveway and they did an okay job every time—I don’t mind shoveling ten or even fifteen centimeters of snow, but when it’s wet and heavy, clearing the driveway is almost impossible.
One of the questions my family asks me most often is: “But where do you put all that snow?”
Well, anywhere we can—on the lawn, on the side of the road, at the end of the driveway… The result is massive snow piles scattered in every neighborhood. They can get pretty high and it’s dangerous when they block part of the street, since you can’t see the traffic when you back off your driveway. They also block the drains and create floods everywhere.
So, once in a while, the city “vacuums” the snow.
Huge trucks and machines are dispatched in every neighborhood. Large snow blowers “cut” the snow banks, and “vacuum” the snow, which is loaded into a large truck. The snow is then hauled into one of the many “snow dumps”—yes, there are such things in Canada.
No wonder the snow removal budget for Ottawa amounts to millions of dollars every year!
You can see the full Winter – Ottawa on Flickr.
Just Came Back From The Supermarket… Walking in the Blizzard!
Massive Pile of Snow in Front of the House
Vacuuming The Snow
Hauling Winter Away
Related articles:
- Picture of the Week: Shoveling Snow
- Winter Weather 1 — Doomsday 0
- Picture of the Week: Snow Melting
- Surprise Snow Storm
- Starting 2013 Snowed Under
- Winter Melting Away
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It’s funny, but I don’t remember these trucks at all during my childhood. When I was in Canada at Christmas I saw them everywhere, though.
I sure don’t miss having to shovel snow in Ottawa…and then having it blow back in my face. No, I don’t miss that.
I think my parents should hire the services of a snow removal company as well. They come with their big bulldozer truck and remove the snow really quickly.
I like a snowy landscape, but I sure don’t want to clean it!
Cleaning the end of the driveway is the worst I think, especially right after the snowplow comes.
I know that snow all too well! It’s so dense and heavy.
Yep, back-breaking snow I call it!
When I was a child in Ottawa I used to be afraid of drowning in the snow, hahaha.
I figured that there was so much of it that if I stood on top of a mound of snow, that I would fall right through.
Another great childhood memory: sledding down the hill in Mooney’s Bay. Great times!
I remember jumping in the snow… and being barely able to get out!
And in the snow dumps, snow takes forever to melt! I remember seeing snow even in late June!