So this is spring

Here in the Great North Woods of New Hampshire we received about eight inches of heavy wet snow. The snowplow deposited a three foot bank of the heavy wet stuff in front of my driveway. I’ve said for years that March will break your heart. It gives you a few nice sunny days to give you some hope. Then it dashes that hope with an early spring snowstorm.

If that’s not cheering enough, I’m into my third day of a really nasty cold. I got through the whole winter without a bad cold. Then spring comes around and there you go. Oh well, at least I feel too crappy to play with the snow.

Part of the storm was supposed to be rain, but here in the North Country it stayed snow the whole time. There are warmer days on the way or so the weatherman says.

Then there is April. Most people have heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers.”

Here it’s “April blizzards freeze your gizzards.” What, you say? Snow in April? That’s not uncommon at all. In fact a May snowstorm is not out of the question.

However, if I have to guess, we’ll have a faster transition to warmer weather than in the past. In more recent years spring and fall have been shortened. Last fall we got snow cover in October and it never melted. In fact, it’s still here at the bottom of three or four feet of more recent snow. It was like we didn’t get fall at all. This may be one of those years when we go almost directly from winter to spring.

We also have a wetter climate than what we used to have. The State of New Hampshire has quietly recognized the change. They’ve been replacing culverts with ones of much larger diameter. Drainage ditches have been dug deeper.

My guess is that when all this snow starts to melt we are really going to need those road upgrades.

-Sixbears