I had a restless night, no doubt due to my close encounter with the tractor kind. There was no way I could clear my road enough to make it safe, so after getting ready, I drove down the tight and bumpy path I had cleared and when I got to the pasture, called Mike. I asked him if knew someone or if he himself was willing to come up and take care of my road whenever we got a big snow. I named a price and he agreed, saying that he would be over later in the afternoon with his big tractor. Feeling better already, I drove carefully over the rest of the farm road, which was very slippery. Once I got on Seneca Hollow, conditions improved for the plows had already passed by and the drive to Christiansburg was uneventful.
I thought of my ex-partner and how through all this awful weather she was safe and comfortable in Blacksburg and I felt good about that. She hated driving in the snow and ice and she was now situated where she could walk to her office if need be. I have to give her credit for getting out of the hollow just before the start of this horrible winter. It was an absolute stroke of genius.
When I returned home Mike had done a good job of snow removal, but there were still some icy patches. When I talked to him later, he said that my earlier work on the road had made it more difficult to clear completely and suggested that if we got another snow to just wait until he could come up. He said that it was so icy at the steep parts that he had to go and get some hay to help with the traction. I told him that if we got any significant snow I would leave it to him, and I slept a lot easier that night.