Surplus to Needs

\

Over the years, I've collected a lovely selection of reference books on local plants and animals. These books have been well thumbed through and even have some dirty prints gracing the pages as I'm usually covered in garden grime when I reach for such a book!  Nearly all were bought used for a dollar or two and some were given to me.   These books have now turned me a small profit as I sold them as a lot last night to local naturalist/gardener for $25.00  This was a great deal for her as the new value was several hundred dollars but good for me too as I've recouped my cost with a wee bit extra.  

This my friends, is a snow rake.  Have you ever seen one?  It's a very long tool with a plastic scoop at the end.  Believe it or not, when we get heavy snowfall (especially over a few days), the accumulation of snow on the roof can be too heavy for the roof trusses!  We might hear groaning and creaking (under the snow load) which is the signal to get rid of some of that snow.  Climbing up on the roof is no fun and definitely not safe (especially not in -30C with a howling wind out of the north), so this handy tool means you can easily reach up onto the roof and "pull" snow down.  Those of you in warm climates night get a kick out of that :)

I'll not be sorry to never see this beast again!  It's loud and obnoxious but super effective at moving a lot of snow.  We would not have easily lived here without it as drifting snow can easily be 4' high (or more) in certain areas.  Think about the snow rake again....  did you wonder where all the snow from the roof gets dumped?  Yup.  Right next to the house where it falls!  Many hundreds of pounds of snow launched right near the house is NOT good for access (and flooding when it melts), so it must be moved a second time.  Enter SNOW THROWER.  The new owners of this house have agreed to buy it from us (and they'll need it!).

Onward we proceed with sorting and purging.  We don't have a lot of clutter, but there are tools and equipment we won't need in a warmer climate so we've been listing items (and selling them) every day.  I think we've made about $1,000 so far which will come in incredibly handy to defray moving costs.