 
Goose and I spent yesterday afternoon trudging through the snow and clearing ice dams at the condo up the street. When I say we, I mean I helped him carry the ladder and then snapped photos while he risked his life.
The only time I climbed up to check his progress he grabbed my camera and took this artful shot.
el Kib
He climbs 4 +’s — what’s the big deal … ? I’m more curious as to how, afer all these years, your serf hasn’t rebelled against the inequitable, crushing tyranny … Nice snow-needle shot, Goose, BTW. And good on you for goofing off in like kind … !
goose
where is the one where im eating the ice?
goose
never mind
smiling
I just tried picking away at the ice on my low roof while standing on a deck bench. Much less risky, but ne’r impossible to put even a small dent in my dams.
michael
It’s a mostly useless cause except for removing the (snow) feeder stream.
Hey, who woke you up?
BirdBrain
Just for the record…as goose was doing this…his dad was on our roof, using the blow torch to try and cut the ice dams. (didn’t work a bit, btw – but I’m just glad he didn’t set fire to the shingles…or fall down!).
michael
Someone asked me about using hot water to melt those ice dams. I’ve tried and the best I can compare it to is tossing a cupful of water into the sun.
Now, using a blowtorch has real potential. John could have set himself on fire and then had to jump from the roof into the snow below, looking just like a scene from the Fantastic Four movie.
Btw, Goose climbed up onto the roof – it’s inviting and easy to do – but once up there wondered how he was going to get down. He wanted me perched on the ladder near the roofline so if he slid off he’d be able to grab the ladder to arrest his progress rather than be catapulted further into space. I confess I declined because I knew if he did slide down those icy shingles we’d both be launched over the nearby tree.
el Kib
I used to hook a hose up to the washer hot water tap and got up on a ladder with a spray nozzle — worked like a charm but ran out all too fast. Plus, a lot of me got soaked, and it didn’t stay hot for long …
michael
I’ve an outdoor hot water feed that I use to wash my truck with. I made the mistake of trying to melt a dam or two and then taking a bath. Might as well of jumped into First Deb at midnight.
BirdBrain
Somehow this is all reassuring …. now I know John’s not the only nut on the roof.