Jane’s World: #RealityWednesday – Nick Kroupa, Jack Holmes and a Plow Truck

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Every winter it’s the same thing. Snowflakes come flying out of the sky, filling up the driveway with large amounts of snow. And the past few winters, we’ve been woefully unprepared when it comes to a plow truck.

That’s why we decided to get a jump on things early this year. We bought this truck from our lifelong friend Nick Kroupa (who inherited it from other lifelong friends Jack and Carol Holmes), and we’ve been busy getting it in shape to plow our driveway this winter. Yes, it came with a plow, too. Between this and the woodstove (should that project be completed before snow flies and yes, it will), we’ll be prepared for snow and cold like nobody’s business.

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plow truck, winter, snow
Tim and Jane’s Plow Truck | Jane Boursaw Photo

The plow truck has been a blessing in many ways. For one thing, since it’s not November yet, we’ve been tinkering away at it when we have time without the panic of “oh no, we could get a blizzard any day now” (though being stuck in our house at the top of our hill is not a problem for me at all, but, you know, sometimes you have to go places).

And since Tim stays with my mom a couple nights a week, and since the truck was at my mom’s house (near Nick’s house), she gets to supervise the project, which is fun for her. The truck had some brake issues when we bought it, which is one of the reasons why we towed it to Mom’s house and not all the way over to our house.

I’m super happy about the progress we’ve made on this truck, because it’ll be a big relief to have something to plow the driveway with when that white stuff falls from the sky in just a few short months.

I don’t know everything that’s in the back of the plow truck, but I do know the origin of that big saw thingie – Tim just scored that from a yard sale for five bucks. Epic purchase. There’s also a hubcap that we picked up by the side of the road (because most of the vehicles we drive are missing a hubcap, and you never know if stray hubcaps might fit) and assorted other stuff.

But my favorite thing is the cherry tank full of dirt and weeds, which yes, came with the truck. You may think that’s just there because someone was hauling a cherry tank at one point and never got around to removing it. The truth is, it makes a nice weight on the back of the truck, which is greatly appreciated when you’re plowing snow up and down a driveway.

I have this idea to clear the weeds out and plant some flowers in the tank, but truthfully, I’m not sure I’ll get to it this summer. I mean, the summer’s half over, for goodness sake. Plus, I’m still working on my flower garden. Maybe I’ll plant some mums in the cherry tank in the fall.

By the way, here’s the current state of my flower garden. I made people buy me flowers for my birthday, so I’m in the process of planting those.

flowers, flower garden
Jane’s Flower Garden, July 2016 | Jane Boursaw Photo

SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.

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8 COMMENTS

    • It is such an awesome truck! Tim’s got the motor purring along and the brakes work and we brought it back to the house. He’s still working on … something, not sure what. But it’ll be a great plow truck for us. 🙂

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