MEEKER | Listening to a recent weather report that said that we have reached ninety percent of our needed snowpack, I realized how much we all take our piles and piles of snow for granted. There is no need to tell any of us that early spring brings our heaviest snowfalls or to recite the seasonal statistics.
I do not care to hear the ranking of Colorado’s snowiest month on record. I just want to know how long the hills will stay green. I am especially interested because when they begin to turn brown, it means another ferocious wildfire season is on its way. I want to be mentally prepared, even though I can’t do much about it.
Expect the unexpected Is a bit of advice that many of us have been given. I never found that particularly reassuring, as I was raised to go to great lengths to ensure I had a couple alternate plans of action. One would think that would guarantee I would be ready to deal with that vague unexpected event, but my own expectations of taking some sort of action created less flexibility and a lot more worry.
The brief reassuring statistic made me feel better in a way, as I continue enjoying all these sunny days in between. The first day of Spring and Spring Break has passed and we are half into what most of us view as “mud season.” Fewer folks proclaim their love of this time of year with cards or banners, but I have friends who tell me they love going off-road with all of their various vehicles, slinging mud as they go. Thinking about the fires that will come, as we deal with the melting ice and globs of mud are not the best spring sentiments, but we all still manage to enjoy this season in our own way. Happy Spring!
By DOLLY VISCARDI – Special to the Herald Times