Coming Soon To A Prairie Near You....

Now...

It sounds as if spring has arrived, but as you can see, it does not look like it. It has been decades since we experienced an authentic winter in Kansas like this one. For many seasons, each summer seemed to linger unnaturally long past the time of autumn. Little snowfall - no extended deeply cold periods - hardly cold enough to kill of any pests, insect or vegetative. None of that is true this year.

It has been nice to experience a "true" winter.

All of my animals have made it through the cold weather. Me and my truck made it through all those icy and dangerous road miles commuting to work. I only fell down once this year, which is a milestone. During the ice storms of winters past, I routinely fell several times walking down the solid sheet of ice in the driveway. Sometimes, if I would simply lay still I could slide down a few yards past the steepest and iciest places. (These things can happen when there are no close neighbors to witness such laziness.)

This winter was not much of a hardship. Thanks to several consecutive years of ice storms, the infrastructure of the electric lines were sturdy enough to hold up throughout the entire winter. As long as I have running hot water, I can survive just about anything this far from civilization.

Enduring a true winter makes the spring thaw far more appreciated. I anxiously await the arrival of green and gold and the fresh, breezy warming of the waking prairie.


Soon...