Walk Safely

I just did a bizarre and rather obsessive-compulsive thing.

Today's snow was soft and slushy. We got only about an inch, and by the time I went out to clear it around 10 am, it came off the sidewalk easily, leaving no residue behind. A little later it warmed up a bit, the snow changed to rain, and some of it even started to melt.

Now, though, it's starting to cool down again, and anything left on the walks is going to freeze overnight. I just came back from walking the dog, and the business that occupies the corner lot two buildings down from us had plowed their parking area as they always do, but they left the sidewalk untouched, along with an area at the back of their property on the side street.

I walk along these places with the dog one or two times each day, and given that she's getting older, she's been having a little trouble on the slippery spots. After the last storm there were some icy patches that didn't go away until this past Monday, so after I finished walking her I put her back in the house, grabbed my shovel (which was conveniently still on the back porch where I'd left it this morning), and went over to the corner and cleared the slushy areas around the business's lot. I didn't do it just for me and the dog; I also did it for the dozens of people who walk around here every day.