SPRING?

As you can clearly see in this nice picture here, we are virtually snow free on February 15th, 2017.  This is not the norm.  Here are some pictures taken on later dates throughout the years to provide us all with a little cold, hard, reality. 

Here is late March, 2011

A normal March looks more like this shot from 2014.

Then again, April of 2013 looked like this.

Last April was MUCH nicer!

Believe it or not, this pic. was taken 3 wks. after the April 2013 pic.

Of course, things can go along quite "swimmingly" in early spring, only to result in this. I can't remember the year. I think I must have blocked it out.

I guess what I am getting at here, is that we Minnesotans are conditioned to be a bit cynical.  Deep down, we are a hopeful lot. We just bury our hope beneath foot after foot of metaphorical snow.  That is how we protect ourselves.  Our plants are generally protected by literal snow and the lack thereof is a bit of a concern.  Luckily, the realist in me knows that there is no point in fretting about it now.  

I have more important things to worry about!  My husband and friends and I are supposed to play "ice golf" this weekend on a not-so-frozen lake.  There's plenty of ice out there, it's just really, really wet.  That should make for even sloppier golf than we normally play.  So you see, I am a life-long Minnesotan and I can still figure out a way to complain about 50 and 60 degree weather in February!

As I write this, I can't help thinking about Minnesotan tendencies and how our environment shapes our behavior.  Last year, the local news did a little bit on "Minnesota Nice" and how that phrase might not be entirely accurate.  In fact, I just Googled something to that effect in search of the story I'm referring to, and found a hilarious website called www.meannesota.com.  The author has clearly had some very bad experiences here.  I was feeling kind of ashamed after scanning through his page, which actually bears the title, "Help Me ESCAPE from Meannosota."  Thank goodness, the next search engine result had a more uplifting take.  The kind individual known to me only as sorenson.blogspot.com, explains that you can find "Minnesota Nice" "Up North".  I can only assume that this good soul is a true Minnesotan.

I'm going to blame the weather for any coldness I might exude, because I'm a good Minnesotan and that's what I do.  Notice I automatically chose the adjective, "good," in lieu of a more illustrious one.  That pretty much sums up Minnesotan-ism right there. Why be frilly about it?  I am reminded of the Marilla Cuthbert character from Anne of Green Gables.  Could it be that all of our mental preparations for meteorological disappointment result in us being a bit guarded?  Are we so used to thaws in February and freezes in May that we are in a constant state of waiting for the other shoe to drop?  I'm going to go with...probably. However, despite the image we might portray, we are a hardy bunch.  Just like the other forms of life who reside here, we can take just about anything that comes our way.  Will we be shoveling snow again in a few weeks?  There's a pretty good chance. Will that break our spirits?  No chance.  Will folks from other states who aren't used to our minimal usage of unnecessary gestures such as eye contact and tooth flaunting identify us as strong spirited optimists?  The verdict is still out...