CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — This time of year, snowplow drivers want to be behind the wheel, looking out at a snowy road ahead of them.
"We're waiting for the first big one, for sure," said Ron Dotterer.
Dotterer and Jeremy Holgate run Holgates Heroes, servicing parts of Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties.
They're not fans of spring-like temperatures in the middle of December.
"It's disheartening. We spent a lot of time and money upgrading our equipment this year, hoping for some big snowfalls, and it winds up just [being] a dusting or nothing at all," said Holgate.
Northeastern Pennsylvania is usually good for one or two snowstorms by now.
"Last year, we got some snow in the beginning of December, and then we had another really big snowstorm right before Christmas, and it just kept coming last year. This year we're still kind of waiting for that first one to get on the ground so we can get something in the books," said Dotterer.
Whether we like it or not, we're at the mercy of Mother Nature.
So Ron and Jeremy are trying to look on the bright side—at least they can work on some warm-weather landscaping projects they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.
"Getting caught up on fall clean-ups with no snow is a big thing. We're able to keep the leaves dry and able to make them move a little bit easier," said Holgate.
"With our big truck over here, we do dumpster rentals, so that's kind of been keeping us going, doing cleanouts and clean-ups as well," said Dotterer.