February

Today is the first day of February.

I remember when I was a kid growing up in the Snake River Valley in Idaho (which was 4,500 feet elevation) that February was always the coldest most miserable month of the year. Here in Central Washington State where I love now, February is always variable. This year it's starting out cold and sunny. There is wind in the forecast but as we say here, the wind doesn't blow, it sucks.

This has been the snowiest year since 1996-97, if I remember right. Usually it snows, then melts, then a month later, snows again, then melts. This year we've had snow on the ground since the first snow in late November. I remember I put the snow tires on my car on a Monday morning, and it started snowing that afternoon. Luck? No, I read the weather forecast.

I'm kind of sick of this winter. I want to be able to drive again and have a clean car and not freeze when I walk from the car to a store (or Starbucks).

And I'm very glad to see the sun today. Just sure it won't last and we'll be back to our normal gloomy winter weather.