Yoo-hoo, Yahoo! We Have a Yooper Scooper.

Pete and Yooper

We have an addition to our family of snow removal tools.  Meet Yooper the Yooper Scooper.  During the Lions Club holiday party conversation turned to snow and shoveling and plowing and blowing. Everyone testified about the wonders of something called a yooper.  It was supposed to be easy to use and able to handle deep snow.

"Is this our new pooper scooper?"

We could see their enthusiasm, but we had no idea what this yooper-thing could be or where you could get one.  The Yooper Scooper is a big scoop manufactured in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan. Residents of the U.P. are sometimes lovingly called Yoopers.  The Yooper Scooper is not a U.P. version of a pooper scooper.  It is a large snow scooper used by many Yoopers to remove the tons of snow that falls upon their land for a good part of the year.

There are a number of places that make and sell snow scoops, but we were directed to Kaufman Sheet Metal in Ironwood, MI, just 25 miles north of Mercer. Kaufman claims to make the best and the "Original" Snow Scoop. They sell them in small, medium and large sizes. I was able to purchase a slightly damaged medium scoop (the damage was a few paint scratches) for 20% off the $60.00 price tag. 

You don't use the scoop quite like a shovel. On the Kaufman website there is a nice description of how it works:  http://www.scoopsandrakes.com/

"Kaufman's Snow Scoop slides under the snow to fill the scoop 

and move it to the point where you want to dump the snow.  

A brisk pull on the handle causes the snow to slide out of the scoop. "

Yesterday we woke up to about two inches of new snow. Pete used Yooper to corral the snow into long narrow piles and then brought Arien in to blow it into the woods.

Pete and Arien

Sif, my powerful snow shovel, is still in charge of the walks and deck. The shovel is named after the Norse Goddess of Beauty and Grain. Sif was Thor's wife. Their daughter was Thrudr, Goddess of Clouds and Storms. During a prior marriage she bore Ullr, the God of Winter and Skiing. I think Sif must have put up with a lot of bad weather from her son and daughter, not to mention her husband with that God of Thunder and Lightening stuff he had going on. My beautiful little shovel can handle her share of snow.

My shovel, Sif,
is always ready.

The Goddess, Sif,
toasting to successful
snow removal.

Yesterday we had a beautiful morning - sunny, clear, crisp and just above zero. 

Life isn't always a picnic up here, but it sure is pretty.

 Youbetchya!*

* If you're interested in learning more words and phrases from the UP check out Da Yoopers Glossary http://www.usaring.com/yooper/glossary.htm