When you picture Montana in the winter
. . . what do you see? I bet you said “snow”
. . . lots of snow. Well, we Montanans
are wondering where all the snow went the past two years because we sure have
not seen much of it last year or this year.
Oh sure, we have gotten snow. We
still have the whole backyard covered in snow much to the displeasure of the
dogs. We still have snow in the front
too. We’ve have snow since November . . .
but not the sort of snow one would expect in Montana. Montanans are wondering: Where’d the snow go!
Well, it seems to have migrated to the
east and northeast. This weekend the
northeast parts of the United States got dumped on . . . up to forty inches in
some parts. To say the least those
people living where all the snow got dumped are not happy. In the meantime, Montanans are screaming for
snow. Our ski slopes—of which we have
many—are begging for snow. The ranchers
and farmers are wanting more snow so that the snowpack is big because the
spring snow melt is what fills the creeks and rivers. Montanans are wanting more snow.
Now, in all honesty, I have a
love/hate relationship with snow. I love
when it snows enough that I cannot get to work, but I hate it when it snows just
enough to make getting to work an adventure of the Indiana Jones variety. The last two winters it has been more of the
Indiana Jones type . . . lots of white-knuckling, swearing, and praying that I
make it safely to work. I have the
belief that if it is going to snow it should snow enough to make it worth the
effort . . . like enough that keeps me home for the day. It has been nearly three years since I have
had a snow day from work!
Snow should be enjoyed from the
comforts of one’s easy chair and not behind the wheel of a car. Actually I would not mine driving in the snow
and ice if it wasn’t for one problem—other drivers. Montana is the land of four-wheel drive. The myth of four-wheel drive is that the
vehicle can drive on and through anything.
That is a myth. The reality is
that ice doesn’t care whether or not a vehicle has four-wheel drive or
not. It is frightening whenever someone
blows by me on the highway going eighty while I am plugging away at forty. But karma usually has the last say . . . I
typically pass the offending vehicle as it sits in a ditch. Usually I wish them “good luck” in sign
language.
If I do not have to drive in snow and
ice I like the snow. I enjoy shoveling
it. I enjoy using my snowshoes. I enjoy watching the dogs plow through
it. Snow is pretty. My only wish is that when God makes it snow,
God could make it fall everywhere but on the roadways. But God is having too much fun and enjoys
flinging it everywhere. I admire that,
but I also realize God doesn’t have to drive in it.
Yeah, we are missing our snow here in
Montana. We wish we had more. I’m not quite sure what the east and
northeast parts of the United States did to get God’s wintry wrath . . . maybe
it was the Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl . . . who knows. All we know for certain is that they are
hogging the snow this year and Montana is not happy about that. Maybe we should hold a prayer vigil at church
. . . pray for snow . . . that sort of thing.
It probably won’t make much of a difference. Maybe, just maybe, if I tell God I have an
important meeting on Monday at work, God will make it snow. That usually does the trick.
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