Snow Stick Questions?

I have gotten a couple questions regarding the infamous snow sticks. (I guess there was a porblem leaving comments on my blog so I had to get questions via email.) I suppose I should have described what they were, eh? Okay, as much as I can tell you is this:

Each year our roads are lined with tall sticks, branches really. They are much taller than I and are on both sides of the roads. The purpose is for snow plows, so they know where the edges of the roads are--this way they know where to plow and also where the road is so they don't go driving off of them. And believe me, when you are driving in the middle of winter, sometimes those sticks are the only thing that tells you that yes, you are still on the road. Its a simple idea, but an ingenious one because it works so well. What the roadworkers do is use this long (metal or steel?) pole with a very sharp end. They push it into the roadside to make the holes and then shove the stick into that hole. I walked over to the one closest to our driveway yesterday and it is about 1-2 feet taller than I. And I don't know how much sticks into the ground. (By the tool I saw yesterday, I think they must stick in the ground about 10-12 inches.)

In my urge to know more--and Ryan getting frustrated with me for not asking all these questions yesterday when I was talking to the snow stick fairies--I have contacted the county road commission via email. Will they answer me? I don't know. But I will post any information that I get.

And yes, I am pretty sure they wouldn't like to be referred to as the "snow stick fairies", but that is what I will call them because I like it.