Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spring 2015 is deceptively pleasant

Ah, spring.

In Wyoming, that usually means snow and wind and cold. March and April are our snowiest months. Usually.

This year, the snow spigot shut off early. Not sure if this is an El Nino or La Nina year, but whatever it is, the storms went to the south and then moved on to hammer Boston and points east.

Today is Saturday, March 28. First day of spring break for local school kids. Trips to ski areas, or those that are still operating. Jaunts to see grandma in Sun City. College kids head to the beaches. Those that stick around, will get sunny skies and 70-degree temps, at least they will today. My neighbor is hammering on something. I can hear it because my windows are wide open. Harleys rumble in the distance. But I've been seeing the local bikers on the roads since January. Their bikes didn't get much of a winter break this year.

This balmy weather has a dark side. If it's dry now, it will be really dry come July. That means wildland fires. A huge grass fire scorched property around Chugwater earlier in the week. Cheyenne experience a grassland fire a month ago that crept to within sparking distance of our newest high school.

Wyoming had a similar dry spring three years ago. The summer of 2012 saw a whopper of a fire west of Fort Collins that carried smoke and ash north to Cheyenne with a south wind. Mix together the smoke with a very hot summer and you get a lot of unpleasantness.

But today, well, I plan on spending time outside. There are gardens to prepare. Leaves to rake. Weeds to ignore. The Home and Garden Show is going on this weekend. My old writing pal, Joanne Kennedy, is staging a book signing at the local animal shelter -- a benefit. I have a new used car to wash. I totalled my old used car a month ago and, no, I didn't skid on icy streets and slam into a telephone pole. The weather was much like it is today. A young woman in an SUV rolled right through a stop sign and I slammed into her. I was OK but not the car.

Plenty to be thankful about on this gorgeous spring day.

6 comments:

Scribble A Day said...

I hope she had more insurance than common sense? Good that you're OK, sad that your life was upturned by the careless actions of another. I envy you your weather turn, even if it does have it's dark side. My raised garden beds are still frozen. All I can do is rake leaves and dream of digging in the dirt.

Sam said...

Mike,

Sorry to hear about your car, but glad you are ok. Warming up in Missouri too, mowed the grass/leaves a couple of weeks ago.

Look forward to following your gardening exploits; it makes me appreciate how much warmer it is here, not to mention the fertile soil that is no doubt due to Independence being the site of the Garden of Eden (true, according to Joseph Smith, as verified on South Park).

Also have the grill and smoker going as we head into BBQ season.

Bib

Michael Shay said...

Bob: I was looking at some amazing grills yesterday at the Cheyenne Home and Garden Show. Have you ever grilled on one of those Himalayan salt blocks? I was tempted to buy one but remembered the old sodium/heart connection. Anyway, I need a new grill. My neighbor Mike tells me that I am a heretic for using a gas grill. He's a charcoal man. What about you?

RobertP said...

Mike,

Listen to your neighbor-charcoal for grilling and lump charcoal for smoking-gas is for your car. Warming up for my favorite UMB event-the BBQ. Will have to send you some pictures of last year's. Folks around KC take their BBQ very seriously (we do have the best in the world)and gas is a heresy.

They now have wood pellet smokers that feed the pellets and keep it to temperature. Many hard core BBQ'ers do not think them legit (though far better than gas) but they are becoming popular. Too expensive for me. I use a basic barrel unit with a charcoal holder on the side-that way i can grill or smoke.

Bob


Have not tried the Himalayan salt thing, but sounds interesting!

Michael Shay said...

You get no argument from me about the superiority of KC barbecue. I have sampled the best during my trips there and the memories linger. I am still a novice when it comes to the backyard BBQ. At the local home and garden show, I almost bought a charcoal grill, a wood pellet grill and an egg-shaped smoker that uses chunk charcoal. Since I just bought a new car, I thought it wiser to defer, to possibly consult my wife before turning my patio into a grill-a-rama. I am hoping that Chris and I will be dropping into your backyard some time soon.

Sam said...

To quote Bob Barker, Come on Down!