The Iceman Cometh .... with apologies
to Eugene O'Neill, who wrote a play by that name. Winter made its presence known in
Minnesota during February, with enough snow to set a new record for the month --
somewhere in the neighborhood of forty-odd (40) inches, which makes it the snowiest February ever in Minnesota and the fourth snowiest month ever of any in Minnesota. Additionally, some days and nights
had record-setting cold. When February began, there was barely a trace of snow
present; now, this is the sight one sees. Note the mailboxes in the photograph. Personally, I have lived in locations
where a single snowfall over a span of two or three days might leave this much
on the ground, but this February has seemed relentless with snow coming down
every second or third day. March apparently is going to give February a run for
its money: As many as six more inches of snow are predicted for today (it is coming down
right now) and the actual air temperatures for the next few nights are expected to
be in the ten- or eleven-degree range (Fahrenheit) below zero. One can only hope the adage
about March coming in like a lion will be matched by it fading away like a
lamb. For a trivia point today, March once was the beginning of our calendar year. The United Kingdom and its colonies changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, and it is only since then when the year begins on January 1.
6 comments:
This is a lot of snow and looks like a snowy kingdom. Unbelievable! Are you patient about it? Of course, you are because what else can you do besides to wait, wait and wait. Your winter was very cold this year, we heard it on TV news.
I look at your picture and it feels so cold. Last year your winter lasted a long time, I hope this year everything would be different.
Our winter this year also tested my patience. Almost every day was snowing or raining but we are heading slowly into spring.
Well, I enjoyed so much the first video, I smiled while watching it all the time. Fantastic video! I saved it to watch over and over again. The second video is also wonderful with beautiful scenery.
Have a nice weekend and stay warm, Fram!
The very nature of winter is to teach patience. The world slows down in winter, at least until people become acclimated to snow and to cold, and, still then, even routine tasks take more time and more effort to accomplish.
I have the same feelings about the dog sled video. Living as far north as I do, it is not unusual to see the "northern lights," but I never have been in a position to be able to look straight up at them.
The earliest archaeological evidence of dog sledding is only a thousand years old and evidence of domestication of dogs dates back about fifteen thousand years. I would bet my last dollar both dog sledding and domestication date back much farther than that, perhaps even to the edge of time. Dog sledding is sort of popular in this region. Every January, for instance, the 400-mile John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon begins at Billy's Bar (appropriate location) near Duluth and proceeds along the North Shore of Lake Superior to Grand Portage near the Canadian border.
My choice for the second video came simply from the fact I am a fan of the music of Ennio Morricone.
Since I no longer am a boy or even a young man, winter has lost much of its appeal to me, but I still want to live where there are four distinct seasons.
I hope you will be warm and cozy until the "weather tide" turns and we are able to abandon coats and boots for a few months again. Take care, Kaya, stay safe and healthy and keep those photographs coming. Your skill and talent with a camera are visibly increasing ....
It's a cold, hard winter, but it's really beautiful with plenty of snow.
You have to work hard on snow work.
Spring is always a bumpy game. Unexpected snowfall is still coming.
The weather is always unpredictable, every year is different.
This year, snow has been abundant.
Currently, it has already melted quite a bit here in southern Finland.
Video of a lovely dog sledge running in beautiful nature. I enjoyed.
Video landscapes and Aurora borealis take me to my childhood. It was good to spend my childhood in the middle of the forest by the lake.
Beautiful relaxing is also another natural video.
Sunlight makes it magical.
Beautiful winter day!
Weather always is a tease / mostly is unpredictable / never is reliable.
This is especially true in the far north country where I have lived most of my life .... but, those who live in the far south lands probably have the same beliefs and opinions. I have witnessed a blizzard in the middle of October and one of the worst storms I ever have experienced came on April 14. Halloween snowstorms happen with frequency. And it is true: Just about the time a person begins to think he has the seasons measured, Mother Nature will strike with an ambush.
I always have thought of shoveling snow and cutting grass as exercise, and resisted buying either a snow blower or a riding lawn mower .... however, this winter is giving me pause to rethink my positions. I suppose I feel that way about this time every winter, but I seem to be a bit more serious about making a change this year.
Because of the depth of the snow, already there are warnings of spring floods. Flooding makes no difference to me in a personal sense because I always have been careful to live on high ground.
My own childhood was in a small town -- population about 700 -- and I always have been happy and grateful such a life was my fate. I could look out my kitchen window and see a lake about a block away. As I grew older, I learned every inch of the shoreline around it from hunting it and every bit about the depths of the water within the lake from swimming it. There were three lakes in the vicinity of town and more only a hop, skip and a jump outside of town. It was the best of all worlds, I thought, and still do think.
As an adult, I have lived most often in the country, in the midst of woodlands and, sometimes, on the shoreline of a lake. I miss those things and will have them again some day.
I am glad you liked the post, Liplatus, and more than glad you visited me and wrote a comment for me. Thank you. I send wishes for a prompt and wonderful spring for you in southern Finland ....
Beautiful Winter photo Fram!
Also love the videos :)
Hope at this time may be spring will appear?
wish you a Sweet sunday!
Anita
Pss sorry It took a long time before answering but my computer has had a virus..Had to start it all over..and delete everything..It was in Connection With the New sofware for Windows 10 something went very wrong..Now I shall buy myself a Mac .I hate Windows and all its stuff.Ok See you around
Anita
Say no more about Windows 10, Anita. Despise might be a bit too strong a word to use regarding it, but that sort of describes my opinion of it. I currently am running three computers and put Windows 10 on one of them a number of months ago. I have regretted it since. The other two computers still have Windows 7 on them, and I am content to continue that way for now.
The photograph is what I see when I stand in the street and look back at my house. The only difference between the view then and now is the addition of six more inches of snow which fell over about a twelve-hour period on Friday. The only good thing about having this much snow is that a few more inches are hardly noticeable.
The day has been good to me, at least in the sense that no more snow has fallen and no more is predicted until the end of the week. Frigid temperatures are expected to continue through the middle of March .... uffff ....
Thank you, for coming and for your comment, Anita. You bring the sun with you for me, and I really appreciate it .... take care, be well and watch out for falling icicles ....
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