We had our first real snow of the season yesterday. Oh, sure, we had a couple of minor storms in December, but they didn’t amount to much, and didn’t really stick. I’d say we got about 10 inches of light snow here.

It’s amazing what a difference having a snow blower makes. I rather enjoyed it. First I cleared our driveway, then I cleared the drain across the street and then cleared the ends of a couple of neighbor’s driveways to boot, before heading out to breakfast. 

The porch ceiling was leaking, so after I got back, I got up on the roof and cleared off the porch roof, and roof raked the main roof. In hind sight this may not have been a great idea — the sun warmed the roof, and melted the scraps of snow that I left, and this meltwater then leaked through the porch ceiling. It does make me more certain that the leak is related to the gutter; I think when the gutter backs up, or the wind is from the south, the water is getting in behind the gutter.

After clearing the roofs, I changed into my ski clothes and headed over the Weston Leo J. Martin Ski Track, for my first skate skiing of the year. I was a little hesitant about it, because my back has been bothering me, and because skate skiing has always been painful for me. I generally set a 20-25 minute timer on myself.

I don’t know whether it was the fresh waxing I gave the skis yesterday, or the powdery snow, or the fact that I was on the extended trails, but it actually worked out pretty well. I still tired easily, but it was just as much my arms as my legs. I definitely felt that I had the right skating motion, and was actually able to skate uphill (for short distances). I actually spent over an hour on the trails; I was cold at times, partly because I’d been sweating, and I still had to stop continuously because I was running out of steam, but it didn’t hurt much. Does this mean that I’m finally getting the hang of it? Man, I hope so. If I am, then maybe it’s just a matter of practice before I can go further without stopping. 

At least, I can hope.