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By Joel Vernier
I was enjoying a well-deserved nap after coming down to my family room at 5:00 am to activate nap mode. I quickly drifted off to REM sleep. I woke up at 7:30 am as daylight was putting the World and my deck in full view, and I was looking out at about 2 ½ inches of fresh snow. The Mediocre-ologists didn’t predict any snow last night, so I’m sure they will pretend they did, as a trace of snow may develop. In my mind, a trace of snow is a light dusting, one that I can still see the wood of the deck beneath the white powder. I get it, I know this is Michigan, where it can snow at any time, in any month, no matter the outside temperature. But I am seriously ready for SPRING!
This year, I have had to walk my dog in extreme weather! Lots of cold weather requires extra time to pick out what I can survive in below 20 degrees or in single digits. I was given an electric vest for Christmas, and that does help, but next year I want electric socks, gloves, and long johns! I have had to wear cleats on my boots more this year than in the last three years combined!
I cooked outside less this winter than in any of the last 10 years I can remember. Yes, I shovel a path to my BBQ. Burgers, steaks, and chicken taste better in the winter off the grill than in the summer, and no mosquitoes to complain about! I have worn my snow shovels down an inch because somehow the storms know when to stop snowing just deep enough before I can justify using my electric snowblower. I know this is not correct, but it seems my morning routine has been to get up, brush my teeth, shave, get dressed, and shovel off a few or more inches of snow. Did I move to the snowbelt? Or did it move over to, as Clint Eastwood would say, “Make My Day!”
Yes, Spring brings its own challenges: winter clean-up, putting away the snow removal tools, and bringing out the grass-cutting & trimming tools. I get it, the hordes of mosquitoes, biting Flys, planting in the garden, fertilizing, watering, and sunburns that follow. Thunderstorms, power outages, fixing bike tires, getting boats ready for summer fun, and making sure the BBQ is cleaned out for the cooking season. Stocking up on mosquito and tick repellent and suntan lotion, and putting away winter clothing in exchange for summer clothing, but always making sure you keep some warm items out for our fickle cold weather that comes in to remind us that winter is not that far away.
With all of that said, I love Michigan! A friend of mine who has lived all over the United States, as his Dad was an Army Doctor, said, “Michigan has more good sleeping nights with the window open than any other state! I admit I keep my window open just a crack when sleeping until the temperature goes into the teens!
