Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread man. 12/22/23 dwm

 If you were raised in the upper Midwest like I was, you are accustomed to snow at Christmas.

 While global warming doesn't mean the end of snow, the trend in my life, especially over the past 30 years, seems to be trending to less cold and less snow.

 The past couple of days have been among the warmest on record. While we had a fair amount of snow last winter, each time we had a few inches it seemed to be followed by days warm enough to melt.

 At Madison's Holiday Fantasy in Lights in Olin Park this season the snow was replaced by rain and drizzle.  Instead of snow, rain streaked across the windshield making it tough to get clear pictures.

 While the evidence indicates to me that we are getting warmer, my memories of piles of snow around the basketball court on the driveway are real.  That kind of snow stuck around.

An ice rink in lights. Olin Park. 12/22/23 dwm

 

A wet Christmas is welcome in areas dried out by a lengthy drought, but rain can't replace the natural cistern-like qualities of a snow pack that releases water slowly as temperatures warm in spring.

Holiday lights without snow are like presents without wrapping paper.  It's difficult to be excited over winter pictures of gray skies and wet pavement.  Ice makes better pictures but ice is bad news, accidents waiting to happen.

I expect to see snow this winter, probably a lot of it, and that will be fine... it's just that no one sings I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas.

Madison's Fantasy in Lights, Olin Park. 12/22/2023 dwm