Do you remember? A year ago, we received over 15 inches of snow on the 25th through the 27th of October.

There are certainly those who mark major weather events on a calendar. Snow in October is not a major, major weather event…except when we receive over 15 inches.

So, let’s talk about a North Dakota winter, and how it gets started. Right now, I am not so sure that I wouldn’t welcome a couple of inches of snow. It has been an extremely dry fall. I say that but looking at the ash tree in the back yard, it’s still full of leaves. Normally by now we would have changed oil on the lawnmower and put it into storage. Taking its place would be the snowblower. It’s usually a heck of a lot easier to check the oil, the belts and etc. on the old John Deere when it’s above freezing.

So, what’s your point, Rod? The point is that last year we made a mad dash to get the snowblower out of storage before the 25th of October and we sighed a big round of relief that it was ready to go when Mother Nature dumped her 15 inches of winter wonder on the Magic City.

Finally, after thinking about, it, I remember that we got only 3 trick or treaters at my northwest Minot home in 2023. The most vivid memory was that little Cinderella, barely as tall as the snow drift by our step, took a tumble into the snow. So, she went from Cinderella to Elsa from Frozen. She might have been covered in snow, but her major concern was keeping her candy filled pumpkin out of the snow. Which she did quite well. Off they went into the night. I had to laugh because the Mom quickly took her Cinderella slippers off at the end of our sidewalk and replace them with snow boots. The Dad removed the little tierra and pulled up the hood. Was a tough night for trick or treating.

Well back to the snowstorm of October 2023. I was really happy that we made the decision to have the snowblower ready to go. Yeah, we do have short memories, and sometimes we don’t believe that weather person on the local TV station. They have been wrong, you know. But this time they were not. We got slammed. The inches of snow piled up and soon the snow shovels were replaced by snow blowers for those who had them. We kept saying to ourselves that “this will be a long winter if this keeps up.”

Another common memory is the long laugh of the service center when you call and ask about switching to snow tires or replacing your current “good enough for summer by totally inadequate for winter” tires. “But hey, don’t you remember me. Yeah Rod, the guy who gets his vehicle serviced their regularly?” And the answer is “Oh sure, but we service over 500 vehicles here regularly and you are number 299 of the list of people who called.” Again, as very short memory of what it was like slipping and sliding my way down 16th street hoping that there isn’t anyone stopped at the bottom. Or attempting to climb up 16th street, looking up and seeing a vehicle sliding back down the hill…Oh crap! What do I do now. Well now there are 2 of us sliding backwards down the hill.

Finally, the snow lets up. The city gets out the snowplows and starts to clear every other street in the city except mine. I know that is how it looks, folks. But we have to keep the faith and eventually our street will be plowed, and we’ll have access to bread and milk once again. I think that a pure judge of the perceived severity of a winter storm is the empty bread aisle at every supermarket in town.

And finally, after we have the situation under control I run into my friend Curt. Now Curt has one of those Bobcat things. I swear to God that he and his grandson pray for snow so that they can go out and play. On this particular day Curt seems concerned about whether we got our driveway shoveled or not. He was just kidding. In the next breath he tells me about how warm it got in the Bobcat. He had to take off his jacket. And his pour grandson was sweating. Curt is truly a dear friend, most days, but today I just kind of look at him and change the subject. Later I think about letting the air out of his Bobcat tires. Again, a bit of a short memory on my part as Curt did drive his Bobcat to my house and clean out my driveway one time.

Looking ahead at the forecast I see only typical October/November weather. No major Colorado lows on the horizon. I am OK with typical North Dakota weather, and really folks, that does include the occasional snowstorm or cold weather snap. And as always, a bit of a short memory will help us get through the worst.

Best Kept Secrets
The Festival of Trees is a great event. November 22nd & 23rd at the State Fair Center. Check out their Facebook page, Festival Of Trees for more details.
I haven’t seen the show yet, but I can hardly wait for the Mouse River Players production of Cinderella. Sounds like a great family event. Tickets available at mouseriverplayers.com.

Today’s Chuckle
It’s best to forgive and forget…as long as you don’t forget what you’ve forgiven.