The Minnesota November snowstorm of 2010:
We were right in the thick of it. Only got about a foot but the
stuff was heavy as cement, not our usual powder. Heaviest November
snow since the Hallowe'en blizzard of '91.

I managed to get it removed from the driveway, but I was exhausted
when I finished. The chains on the snowblower wheels fell off and
are history and the tires wouldn't grip slush that's slicker than
molebdynum loon****, so I had to push the damned thing back up the
hill after every pass. Fell down twice. I'm too old for that kind of
foolishness! When I was within 10 feet of the back door to put it
away, I noticed that the sheetmetal shroud enclosing the carburetor
was falling clear off. Ye gods! I pushed it in the shop and went
in the house to rest while the snow melted off it. Later I found
that some bolts had vibrated out and there were fatigue cracks around
the holes. Then on further examination, I noted that a major piece
of metal on the bottom was flapping loose. More missing bolts and
fatigue failures. Geez, the thing is self-destructing after only 25
years!

But it's repairable if one has the time, skills and inclination. I
have all three. Not headed for the dump quite yet.

So my activities today included making a sheetmetal patch with nice
new holes to weld onto the shroud, repairing the bottom pan with a
bit of welding (butt welding 18 gage steel), a couple of new bolts,
and repairing a bracket by welding it. The skills I developed and
tools I accquired when I was keeping our fleet going came in handy.
The little Lincoln SP125+ is a magic box with sheetmetal. I
zinc-plated the bracket because it mounts to the muffler (!) so I
didn't think paint would last long there. It was probably zinc-plated
when new. There was a little rust, but not bad at all. The failure
was from vibration fatigue right at the bend. I got good penetration
and a nice convex fillet on the back side, so that bracket will
probably now outlast me and/or the machine.

Now the paint is drying, I'll reassemble tomorrow. Oh, and I found
new chains on the internet. The dork at the dealer said they're no
longer available and for some reason I believed him. I mentioned it
to my bud Fitch in PA and he said hogwash, somebody must offer them
-- and he was right. He found me one source. They didn't have exactly
what I need, but another did. They're on order.

I was worried about how I was going to deal with a big berm at the end
of the driveway after the plow went thru. Mr. Toro has always been
able to cope with those, but I've never seen snow this heavy and wet.
Snowballs made with this snow would be deadly weapons!

Turned out I didn't need to worry. The street was clear this morning,
and no berm. When I went out to buy paint 'n bolts this afternoon,
I noticed some piles of snow beside the driveway with what I'll call
"blade prints" in them: perfect negative molded replicas of a blade.
This is snow sculpture snow for sure! Ooooohhhhhh! Neighbor Con
must have come over with his 4-wheeler with a blade on it and
dispatched that berm, and we didn't even know it. What a guy!

Mary sold him that 4-wheeler (and blade) for a song a few years ago.
It had belonged to her deceased brother. Con wanted it, I didn't
want to store it and Mary likes Con so he got a very good deal. And
now he's giving back a little! He wouldn't have to do that, but
he's the sort of fellow and neighbor that does anyway. Like that
about him. Tellya whut, he loves riding/driving that machine. I
foresee a big batch of peanut butter cookies coming from Mary's oven
in the near future.