B Flat

And so begins the great, and unexpected, January thaw. Except I believe it’s actually ending. Or melting its last, at any rate. The last couple days have been much too warm for a northern January. Like +10°C warm. And that’s off the tail of some unrighteously cold days of -50°C, or thereabouts. Not only do we have polar weather, we also have bipolar.

The blanket of snow that once buried our house has liquified its assets and trickled down the drain spouts, creating considerable wetness in its wake. Until it cools overnight, that is, and creates many sheets of slipperiness along with consternation and excitement.

Due to this iciness, I slid down my drive this morning in my truck until I bumped into the slush berm the town’s sidewalk clearing machine creates every time it goes by. It’s honestly the first time I’ve actually been thankful for it, as it’s usually a big enough ridge I have to pull out the snowblower and blow it across the street to comfortably drive in and out of our yard. This time it kept me from being a crash test dummy. Once I was out on the street, I gently spun in place until the four wheel drive kicked in enough to pull the front of the truck back into my lane and out of the snow bank where the rear tires were attempting a deposit.

Part way to work I got a free truck wash. The drainage ditch that is theoretically supposed to channel spring runoff to the local pond was still hibernating and hadn’t got the wake-up call that spring had come early and it needed to look lively. I probably got 12-foot waves splashing over me when I hit the puddle, so that was fun and rewarding. The adult version of stomping around in puddles while wearing rubber boots. I got to do it a few more times throughout the day before the Town guys brought over a skidsteer to push the ditch open and get it draining.

Midmorning I witnessed a taxi attempting to drive forward while slowly sliding backward down the gentle slopes of the convenience store parking lot across the street from my office before suddenly swinging sideways and sliding that way for a bit. He eventually got himself back on the street and taxied off after his taxing experience. Good thing it’s not tax season quite yet. One customer that came in said he drove nervously to work and then used said taxi service to do his errands because he was too scared to drive himself around in all the ice and slush.

Next week looks to be winter again. It’d be nice to have it stay properly cold for the rest of winter and snow many feet. Winter should be cold and snowy when you’re in the north, not slush and rain. How is the local ski hill ever going to open if the snow keeps on melting? I want to ski, and not just in my boots on my driveway.