After a crappy few days, the weather lifted today and gave me some of my favorite views from my house. ?ÿ Ooohhh and We don??t have snakes, gators, scorpions, or rodents of unusual size...
What! No beavers???
We have a few right in town (Bear River runs through here).
BTW, porcupines are rodents too, but we don't see too many of them in town (sometimes we do).
Loyal
?ÿand We don??t have snakes, gators, scorpions, or rodents of unusual size...
That's exactly what I tell myself while shoveling snow off the driveway.?ÿ Also mentioned several kinds of snakes.
You all in the northern latitudes need to be careful of the dreaded arctic snow snake ( viperus bullcrapius ).?ÿ In the warmer months it appears as a harmless garter snake.?ÿ But in deep snow conditions it turns white much like hare and fox.?ÿ All that is visible is its two beady black eyes.?ÿ Its venom is exponentially deadly in the winter.
Tried living in the snow belt in my 20's. ?ÿThe community even had a park where they flooded a diked area of about one block in size to permit public ice skating. ?ÿA small ski resort was less than 20 miles distant. ?ÿNot my cup of tea. ?ÿOthers may love it. ?ÿThat's great for them.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have often thought about retiring to a place like that and so long as I did not have to work in those conditions it might be possible. Have a nice well insulated house with gas heat and gas fireplace lots of books and bourbon and I might be able to last a week or two.
When I retire I plan to sell my snow shovel and throw in the house. After two winters in Korea and one in the Baltic I dont care for cold...
I lived a good part of my childhood in the Rockies and got my fill of 12' snowdrifts and -20 degrees in the winter.?ÿ?ÿ After moving south and raising my boys I would take them up in the mountains for summer vacations.?ÿ They use to ask me, "why don't we live up here all year long?"?ÿ There was just no way to explain to them what a 20' tall pile of six month old dirty snow looks like in April at a Wal Mart parking lot.
My oldest son eventually moved to Denver and stayed there twenty years.?ÿ Then, citing his displeasure with the?ÿwinter cold,?ÿhe bought a house in Phoenix...with a pool.
I've been here in the snow and ice for 65 years. I used to brag about the fact that we average 110" of snow/year.When I was young I felt like I had conquered nature when I got shoveled out. These days I feel like nature has beat the hell out of me when I get shoveled out. When I was young I never understood why the older folks migrated south for the winters, or permanently. These days I understand it perfectly! When I was young I never thought much about retirement, but fortunately prepared for it financially. When I am ready mentally I will migrate to a small town far away in a tropical climate where ice is only found in the beer cooler.
BTW - it's supposed to get up to 32?ø F today...?ÿ
I'll take the snakes, gators and rodents.?ÿ You can have the COLD and snow.?ÿ It got down to 24 degrees here Sunday night and that was too cold for me.?ÿ If I were to win the lottery I'd have a couple of homes, one in the mountains for the summer (April thru October) and one in the Caribbean (on the beach) for the winter.?ÿ The north Georgia mountains are full of what the locals call "Halfbacks".?ÿ They lived in the north until retirement and then moved to south Florida, then the hurricanes threatened (and hit).?ÿ Then they moved to north Georgia, east Tennessee and western North Carolina, they were "Halfway Back".?ÿ They got the "relatively" light winters without the hurricane threats.
Andy
Oh, by the way, they can't drive any better in the mountains than they do in Florida.
You all in the northern latitudes need to be careful of the dreaded arctic snow snake ( viperus bullcrapius ).?ÿ In the warmer months it appears as a harmless garter snake.?ÿ But in deep snow conditions it turns white much like hare and fox.?ÿ All that is visible is its two beady black eyes.?ÿ Its venom is exponentially deadly in the winter.
Paden you are misleading the folks about the snow snakes. After spending fifteen months with the USAF in Goose Bay Labrador I can tell you the more dangerous variety are the constrictors.?ÿ They wait at the base of snow banks along the edge of snow cleared areas. As you walk by they wrap around an ankle and jerk it in some odd direction. Broken bones and concussions are the more severe injuries. Strained muscles, bruises or bruised?ÿ egos are more common.
You all in the northern latitudes need to be careful of the dreaded arctic snow snake ( viperus bullcrapius ).?ÿ In the warmer months it appears as a harmless garter snake.?ÿ But in deep snow conditions it turns white much like hare and fox.?ÿ All that is visible is its two beady black eyes.?ÿ Its venom is exponentially deadly in the winter.
Paden you are misleading the folks about the snow snakes. After spending fifteen months with the USAF in Goose Bay Labrador I can tell you the more dangerous variety are the constrictors.?ÿ They wait at the base of snow banks along the edge of snow cleared areas. As you walk by they wrap around an ankle and jerk it in some odd direction. Broken bones and concussions are the more severe injuries. Strained muscles, bruises or bruised?ÿ egos are more common.
You two are making my face hurt but it's not from the cold LOL
Snipes...Snipes are what you really need to be on the lookout for.?ÿ Equally as dangerous in the winter months as they are in the warm...?ÿ
Paden you are misleading the folks about the snow snakes. After spending fifteen months with the USAF in Goose Bay Labrador I can tell you the more dangerous variety are the constrictors.?ÿ They wait at the base of snow banks along the edge of snow cleared areas. As you walk by they wrap around an ankle and jerk it in some odd direction. Broken bones and concussions are the more severe injuries. Strained muscles, bruises or bruised?ÿ egos are more common.
I've heard about snow constrictors..a most dangerous bunch for sure. 😉
My family lives in Buffalo. My mom NEVER moved back to Buffalo once she got to California. That's all I gotta say. ?????ÿ
I would suspect that are 10 times as many birthdays during the months of August-October than the other months for folks up there.?ÿ
?ÿ
?ÿOoohhh and We don??t have snakes, gators, scorpions, or rodents of unusual size...
Thankfully you can always board a flight to go visit them. ?ÿ ?????ÿ
