What does your driveway say about you after a snowfall? More than you might guess, says this winter driveway observer.

A walk along a local road after a North Country snowfall provides the perfect setting for my favorite winter pastime---reading driveways.  You’d be surprised how much a driveway can tell about the household that uses it.  But reading a driveway is not always elementary, my dear Watson.

For example, a driveway cleared in a timely and tidy manner might lead you to deduce that its owners also keep a tidy garage, an organized basement, 2-cycle engines that turn over with one pull, and a car whose radiator gets flushed each fall.  But meticulous grooming might also suggest that the driveway belongs to a North Country newcomer, who still clings to downstate ways and has yet to adopt the more nonchalant custom of letting snow pile up until the spring thaw.

Both of these deductions, however, could be wrong if a driveway is poorly designed.  I know. I have one of these.  My partner and I are outside snow blowing, shoveling, and sweeping while our neighbors pursue their daily routines.  We do this, not because we enjoy the exercise or because exposed pavement thrills us, but because our wide driveway is a Venus flytrap for unsuspecting cars seeking a place to turn around.  Just a little bit of ice or snow, and down they slide straight toward our garage door.  The plaintive wail of their spinning tires summons us to their aid with shovels of sand and helping hands.

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