Driveway races, Sochi-style

Previously a welcoming, tree-lined path with gentle curves and a small sloping hill, our driveway this winter has mutated into a treacherous snare frought with such hazards as invisible, impenetrable ice chunks and mammoth drifts capable of swallowing both humans and automobiles. Accordingly, we have renamed it the "Driveway of Death" and posted a sign (in the interest of public safety) -"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here" (Dante, anyone?); "Abandoned vehicles may be claimed in the spring." Last week I had been hopeful about adding to our snowblower fund after initiating negotiations to lease the driveway as a training run for the Olympic bobsled team, but the deal fell through after it was deemed too hazardous a run for the athletes.

Winters like this breed discouragement and despair, and it has taken a small black goat (who didn't even see Broadway's 42nd Street but surely has heard us singing the lyrics) to remind me to look for "the sunny side in every situation." Instead of moping that he is stuck in the shed all day again with his itchy brother and hasn't seen a blade of grass in months, Emerson invented a fun activity to occupy his days - The Running Game. I have been letting the goats roam the driveway most days while I shovel, since as a narrow channel with cavernous white walls it affords no escape, not even at the end, usually, as the snowplows keep sealing it shut. Emerson stands alert at one end until I give him a signal (clap, yell, anything) and then he hurtles off at breakneck speed to the other end, where he stops to dance around upright on his back legs before the return dash. Somehow this repetitive activity gives him immense pleasure, although when I tried it, I ended up with a bruised hip and a knee brace, so now Elliot and I just watch and cheer him on. This looks like his best run yet, Bob, there's the time to beat, and it's Emerson for the gold! And the crowd goes wild; there's a goat on the podium!

As my sympathetic aunt in Florida reminded me yesterday, there are only 29 days until spring. Maybe I'll miss all the snow after it melts...maybe not.