Mere days after digging out from Friday's storm, small businesses in the North Country are preparing for another blast of winter weather. Matt Hunter reports.

GASEVOORT, N.Y. – Months into an already busy winter, less than a week has passed since the last time the team at Grasshopper Gardens was tasked with digging their many clients out from a North Country snowstorm.

"Thinking back in the recent past, it is probably the second worst year we have seen," Grasshopper Gardens owner John Delisle said Tuesday afternoon. “There is not much of a break here with this one but it is nice to see the sun out now and maybe it is the calm before the storm.”

The storm that's expected to bring between several inches to over a foot of snow to the region will keep the Gansevoort landscaping company's more than 50 plow drivers busy through Wednesday and Thursday.

“Assuming the forecast is correct, it looks like this one is going to be a big one,” said Delisle, who started the company with a single lawnmower when he was in high school.

Delisle's crew spent Tuesday making sure all of the equipment was in working order.

"Obviously, equipment on a snow storm like this is really important," he said. "If it is running good, then we can keep going right through the snowstorm. If we have issues with the equipment, that obviously causes problems."

“You do not want to be doing that when there is three or four or five inches of snow on the ground, driving around and moving heavy equipment," High Peaks Tree Removal owner Chis Porreca said Tuesday.

Porreca's staff also spent Tuesday preparing machinery to make sure they’re ready for any and all calls.

“This past storm, we actually did pull a tree off a house,” Porreca said. “The tree fell down because of the weight of the snow."

The more-than 20-year-old business does some tree cleanup but by and large, they keep busy in the winter by plowing snow for commercial clients.

"We enjoy it,” Porreca said. “Everybody in my crew enjoys getting out there and doing this. Obviously, if you get it week after week after week of big storms, it does kind of wear on you."

While North Country snow storms can grind on even the strongest among us, they provide a winter lifeblood for many small businesses.

"It is nice to just get into a truck and just get out there and do something different to mix it up a little bit,” Porreca said.

“We are ready for the snow, and whatever comes our way, we will be able to handle,” Delisle said.