Before you do something, you have to do something else

That title is one of the axioms of life in Alaska, right up there with "always getting ready." Today I embarked on a bit of both, in part doing something I should have done last week. There's enough snow in the yard to warrant a blow. Not so much that it can't be driven over, even with the little car, but enough so that if there's another snowfall, it will be too much. So today was snowblower day. Only to get at the snowblower, I had to first start the four-wheeler which was blocking it in the sort of tent garage I am using. The four-wheeler has a winter jump start to it, that by pumping it a couple of times, it supplies enough fuel to get it started with that first weak blast from the battery. The problem is I can never find it. I had to go back to the book twice, broke a headlamp (mine, not the four-wheeler's), tried to start it without the boost (It's plus 10 F out, not exactly four-wheeler weather) and try again. I finally pulled the machine out of the garage by hand and in the daylight found that button and lo and behold the thing started.

I held on until I was sure it would stay running and then went after the snowblower. Now that thing has never failed. It started right up and off I went down the driveway happy this was going to be a good day. I got maybe a hundred feet before it stalled, Started and stalled about four times and then locked up. Cannot even pull the starter rope. This I assumed was beyond my capabilities so I called a dealer about 20 miles away and they said they could take it.

That settled all i had to do was hook up the trailer to the Jeep and winch the blower onto the trailer with a come-along and off we go. Turned the key to start the Jeep and not even a click. Now, that's scary. There is no good reason that Jeep's battery went dead. I checked all the buttons and switches and nothing was turned on. Sooooo, I brought the charger out from the house and hooked it up. I went about some other things, filling bird feeders for one, a little shoveling, some organizing in the garage and came back to the Jeep..... this time there was that series of fast clicks that at least tells you some juice is going through the system, but not enough to start the vehicle. However, I did discover I had left the interior light on... you have to turn it on and off manually and in my hurry a week ago I didn't turn it off. As least that says there isn't any lasting damage, but more time would be needed to get it to start.

So at this writing, here's how it stands: the snowblower is about 100 feet down the driveway stalled; the Jeep is out there with its hood up and the charger pumping away on the battery; and I am in the house warming up, although seriously it's not all that cold so not much of a problem.

That dealer closes at 6 and right now it's 3 so we shall see if the Jeep will start in time.

As old Lodgeskins used to say: "Some days the medicine doesn't work."

And out there on the Western Alaska coast it looks like most weathered the first storm of the century just fine, thank you.