Buried Head First – A Matter of Survival

Yesterday, I put a drawing with hands coming out of the snow on my blog. Our local paper carried an article that does winter one better. George Sovas, age 57, (Naples, Maine) decided to help his ex by cleaning snow and ice off her roof. He put a ladder against the home and started to chip ice away at the edge. It was a metal roof which encourages snow to slide off with the greatest of ease. Well it did. In the process George was knocked backwards and driven head first into the snow with his arms pinned to his side and his butt and legs sticking out of the ice/ snow.

He kept his “cool”. He is a snowmobiler and outdoorsman. For over 2 hours he struggled to get free. First he blew on the snow to melt enough to move his nose to get air. Over time – I mean 90 minutes – he finally got his hand to his pocket and called 911. But, that was not the end of it. The police could not just pull him out. They had to send for shovels and carefully extricate him for his surroundings. 

A sore neck and back, George’s  body temperature had dipped to below 94 degrees as he was transported to the local hospital.  Yikes – I have fallen off a roof and been wedged into snow but always heads up. You can actually see George on video by visiting the website of www.wcsh6.com. There is a link to the story on their home page today (Feb. 22). What would you or I have done for 2 hour head first . Don’t even want to go there.

Here is a message from someone asking about animals and the total lunar eclipse:

I was reading your website about cats sleeping with noses up before a storm. I’ll have to watch my cat to see if that happens. But I did want to mention something weird that happened last night as we were outside watching the total lunar eclipse. Right at the moment the last sliver went dark and the eclipse was complete, we heard a cat a few doors down start caterwauling very loud. It lasted for a few minutes. It could have been a coincidence, but the timing was so unusual. I was wondering if you had heard about any other cat or dog reactions to the eclipse.Thanks,Marie

We have done stories on cats and dogs reacting before an earthquake but never an eclipse. Has anyone else noticed unusual animal activities during the total lunar eclipse??  It makes sense that an animal might notice the sky darkening… anyone??  Let me hear form you at pgeiger@farmersalmanac.com.

Have a safe weekend. Stay away from snow covered roofs.