Snow at last

Here it is, March 1, and our first real winter snow finally arrived. It's hard to tell how much fell here, but at least 8" sits on our picnic table, a depth typical of a January snowstorm. This white stuff would have been welcome six weeks ago for the snowmobilers or even two weeks ago for Winter Carnival events. As it is, the snow is unlikely to stick around when temps of 40+ degrees arrive over the weekend, and all the silly hubbub will seem pointless. The good thing is that there must not be bigger, badder regional events so that almost all of the news coverage today has focused on an event usually much more common than it's been this year.

Unfortunately the midwest truly is suffering from highly unusual winter tornadoes that brought terrible destruction of property and the loss of six lives, and forecasts indicate that more unsettled weather is on its way. I'm not thinking "global warming" at all, but I will be glad when such violent weather events can be manipulated and minimalized to save lives. On the other hand, I don't like the idea of snowfall being artificially manipulated simply for the benefit of winter sports enthusiasts, even though I live in a state where the majority of income is the result of tourism and outdoor sports.

At least the snow sports folks and the plow guys will be happy for a few days before all of this turns to mush!