Is Greg’s snowblower our winter good luck charm?

Might my snowblower be a good luck charm? It hasn’t been used for about five years (not for the lack of snow, mind you) but because I relied instead on a local service company to clear the 60-foot-long driveway while I stayed warm and dry indoors — a delightful experience, but no more.

“We’re going all commercial now,” I was informed last fall and a chill ran up my spine.

What do I do? What if there’s a huge snowstorm in Bucks and Montgomery counties? Will I be buried alive in Southampton? Calls to find a residential service replacement failed, leaving my wife and me no option but to dust off our retired snowblower and prepare it (and ourselves) for the winter games.

Luckily, the season so far is off to an easy start, and I can’t help but wonder if one thing didn’t affect the other.

Except for that surprise storm in November (prior to the tuneup decision), there’s been nothing but rain and mild, 50-degree temperatures (even 61 degrees on New Year’s Day) through the first half of January. That’s unusual. When paying for the machine’s tun-up, I jokingly told the service man my decision to rejuvenate the device might mean there’d be no snow. He laughed and said, “That would be great!”

I doubt he believed that (and probably laughed at me, not with me ), and to tell you the truth, I’ve never been an activist either in items like a good-luck charm. But when it was known we couldn’t rely on the local snow clearing service again, my wife and I felt the best option was to dust off the idle contraption and get it ready to go. Now look at the weather results.

I’m certain they knew nothing of my snowblower rebirth, but ironically meteorologists, too, are falling in line with the good-luck theory. They now say January will be OK. And I thank the red, self-propelled snowblower for its help.

The Weather Channel has released an updated winter weather forecast showing average to mild temperatures for the

What do I do? What if there’s a huge snowstorm in Bucks and Montgomery counties? Will I be buried alive in Southampton?

month — highs average in the low 40s and lows in the mid-20s. And it appears the snowblower will remain silent for most, if not all, of January. AccuWeather also predicts average conditions for a month typically cold and snowy, and the National Weather service’s long-range forecast looks OK, too. Temperatures will be normal, it predicts, and precipitation is seen as a “bit of snow” only Jan. 30 and Feb. 2.

A rabbit’s foot and a special coin are among objects believed to bring good luck to the carrier. But considering this winter’s auspicious start, I’m adding my renewed snowblower to the list of effects responsible for warding off evil storms.