For those in warmer climes, a description of an urban snow emergency:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Minneapolis won't pick up your garbage or recycling

if there is one of those snow ridges in front of the bins. They just leave a snotty little tag on the bin telling you to remove the snow by the next collection or they will do it for you and charge you. OK, fine, but what if the damn plow comes through the alley early in the morning and plows up a snow ridge, and then the trash collectors come right after that, before you even know you have to clear the bins? That happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I was not amused. Fortunately the garbage was frozen so it didn't sit there and stink for another week.