The Endless Winter

If only I were part German Shepherd

Yes, I'm well aware that this has been an unusually harsh winter for most of the country.  Couple that reality with the fact that I moved to a new, more northerly climate zone this past year, and I've been just short of shell shocked by the endless Winter. 

It's not like I've never experienced snow.  It's actually been much more manageable than the conditions typically are in Kentucky, because 1) ice is a less frequent occurrence and 2) they're simply better equipped and more experienced with these types of conditions north of the Ohio river.  It's really more that I've never experienced such a prolonged duration of snow cover.

Since December 1st, the ground was covered with between 1 inch and many many many more.  We got a couple of days of thaw at the end of December, then back with the snow.  Likewise, in January, it warmed up for about 1 day, enough to rain, melt much of the snow, then whammo, back to snow.  Finally, last week, spring began to make an early appearance.  We had a few days in the upper 40s and 50s, and the snow melted from my yard enough to find the two months worth of dog poop that lay beneath.  So, we're in the clear right?

Wrong.

Tonight, we're getting, drum roll please, more friggin' snow.  You'd think after 8 months here, that some of this hardy Midwestern attitude would have rubbed off on me, but you'd wrong again.  If anything, it's merely strengthened my resolve to move closer to a hurricane zone.

Another pitfall of our new location?  We're in the no-man's-land of weather forecasting.


See that purplish line between the distinct teal marked 1-3 inches, and the distinct pink labeled 4-8 inches?  Yeah, that's us.  Unless there's some isolated weather event targeted directly at our community, the weather report goes something like this: "In the Indy metro area, we're expecting 1 to 3 inches of snow.  South and east of the city will get rain.  Our viewing area to the north can expect 4 to 8 inches of snow".  So, where do we fall?   Clearly in the 1 to 8 inch range.

Don't get me wrong, it's been nice to have a new experience.  And the relentless teasing from our friends and family, (who are obviously intellectually superior), is always a source of amusement.  But I'm ready for this part to be over.  Just like everyone else.  Bring on the vitamin D, gardening, sunscreen, swimming pools, and complaints about the heat!