@msolga,
Yeah, sometimes we have to shovel off the porch to get at the steps to get at the drive in order to get at the sidewalk out front. There is a city by-law that you have to keep the sidewalk in front of your house clear. They don't enforce it that severely, but after a few days, if you haven't cleared it, they're likely to issue a citation. I also shovel the walk in front of the house next door, the walk to her steps and the steps to her porch (her porch is closed-in, so it doesn't need to be cleared of snow)--but she's a lady in her 90s, so i think it would be churlish of me not to do it, and do it without being asked.
Shoveling to get out the door or off the porch usually only happens with the worst snows, such as the February when we got seven feet of snow in about four snowfalls over a period of three weeks. Otherwise, as long as there's a good breeze, drifting tends to keep the porch clear.
