I was on the on the edge of 17” of snow, though that wasn’t what Stevie Nicks had in mind when she wrote “Edge of Seventeen”. Several days of dire forecasts trumpeting record-breaking snowfall, freezing rain, and other wintery unpleasantness slid about fifteen miles to the south and east of me. My neighbor spent time putting the blade on his Ford Bronco last night. This morning he spent time removing it without using it.
Snowfall amounts ranged from a trace to 18” in a band about 50 miles wide and about 400 miles long. Other than some sloppy flurries, cold wind, and ½” of rain, it would have passed for a late February day. My old home area, Emmons, MN and Lake Mills, IA, picked up close to a foot of snow and saw many crushed trees and downed power lines. Weather forecasts are not 100% accurate, and one person’s good fortune is another person’s misfortune.
Not that winter has fully left the area. Normal temperatures may not visit again until Monday and there is a minor threat of snow Friday and Saturday. After that, I hope this area gets a second chance at a normal spring and that the areas bearing the brunt of get a chance to clear out and clean up. A couple of sunny days will get rid of this round of winter.
The four decent days this week have the snowdrops blooming, daffodils and tulips budding, and the forsythia finally showing flower buds. The red remains of silver maple tree flowers litter many driveways and the tree rats, er, squirrels are becoming fat, happy, and stupid by gnawing near a leaf bud and lapping the maple sap. That also causes sugary drips on driveways and parked cars. Everything is running almost three weeks behind normal. Maybe the growing season will run three weeks later this year.
I replaced my weather station without falling off the roof and only dropped one wrench. Of course, it did necessitate a trip down to get it. Lucy and I shared a strong dislike of ladders. Mine is exacerbated by a mild rupture in my right ear drum with occasionally plays havoc with balance. The top of the roof is about 14 feet above the ground, but an asphalt driveway and a concrete patio increase the likelihood of a hard landing. I’m glad that chore is done for another decade or more.
I hope you are getting the chance to enjoy some pleasant and routine weather. If bad weather affected you, I hope you are safe and any damage was minimal. Life is as uncertain as the weather, so don’t waste an opportunity to give your loved ones a meaningful hug.