The Lion Roars

In the more temperate areas of the country, it is the month of March that comes in like the lion and goes out like the lamb. Here in the subarctic, the lion is still roaring as we dance between winter and spring. Yesterday was winter and the view from the front window looked like this.

The temperature stayed in the mid-30s and snow fell for much of the day, big wet heavy flakes that accumulated to an inch or two. Visibility was minimal and everyone was groaning that it really is time for this to quit. It is late May, for goodness sake!




Overnight the wind picked up and a high pressure cell moved in. This morning we awoke to bright sun, and today it is spring again. Temperatures are in the low 40s. The lion is still roaring, and now the view from the same window looks like this. Yes, that's a pond in front of the house, and it is frozen. What you can't tell from the photo is that the wind is really whipping. There is a steady blow at about 20 mph with gusts to 30 or more. The wind actually helps our transition by drying things out. Mud Season is upon us, and the roads become quagmires that seem impossible in places. The old joke about discovering a hat in the road and finding a guy under it, still on his horse, is not too implausible, except that we don't have horses up here. At least our mud has no clay content, so it doesn't stick to your boots, your wheels, and everything else, the way it does in Georgia. This is silty, river-bottom stuff that washes off easily. The bad roads look like a stage for a tractor-pull, and the good roads have teeth-rattling washboard surfaces with axel-breaking potholes. The road crews are working seven days a week to keep things as good as they can.

This, too, will pass, and in another month the big problem will be the dust. And the mosquitoes, but that is a story for another post. And we are still waiting for break-up. Maybe by next weekend...