Agnes by Tony Cochran for January 04, 2015

Trout finding a bright side.

The market making lemonade out of lemons.

Trout had it right the first time…Winter snowpack holds water on hillsides long enough for some of it to seep into the ground as it melts, instead of running off…which later helps irrigate those spring and summer crops….

It also feeds streams and rivers….It’s useful stuff…As long as I don’t live too close to it….

And it also keeps plants from frostbite! Like a fluffy warm blanket. Last winter was a disaster for many gardens here – no snow and -20C or lower. :(

As the saying goes, Agnes, “it’s complicated.” We need snow here so the farmer can use his cross country skis to get to the snow plow. But more than a foot is too much of a blessing.

It’s vital to the SNOW DAY industry, so kids can stay at home and watch tv all day long!

I’m with Agnes, it’s only use seems to be controlling the human population.

“Just part of Nature and leave it at that.”.So are super novae and we wouldn’t be here without them but they are best viewed from a greeeeeaaaaaatt distance.Not unlike snow.

Trout had it right the first time — but I guess she figured from Agnes’ statement that she would not be able to explain how snowmelt is what provides the basal moisture for planting.

Science told in a fairy tale. In Mother Hulda, the lazy daughter refused to shake pillows so it would snow in the world. The farmers said, “Does Mother Hulda never make her bed? Our crops will dry up in the spring if we have no snow.” And the children of the valley cried, for they could neither ride nor slide on their sleds.

or even 6,001(and those jets coming out of black hole galaxies….don’t get me started)

Only with enough snow can Mr. Plow and the Plow King co-exist peacefully.