WAITING FOR A CHINOOK

AFTER THE STORM, APRIL 20, 2013

WAITING FOR A CHINOOK (CHARLES M. RUSSELL)

WAITING FOR A CHINOOK  (ART ODE)

A NEAR MISS

Saturday,  9:00 AM.  23 degrees F, wind N, light to moderate.  The sky is clear and the sun is bright.  The barometer is up, at 30.24 in.  The humidity is down, at 59%.  The storm did some random tree damage, the large white pine branch just missing this house on 9th and Manypenny, the same address where a giant white pine went down a few days ago.  We did some scouting about yesterday afternoon and most of the local roads are passable, but I wouldn't venture into the barrens, even with a good four wheel drive.  We even saw a snowmobile stuck out on Hwy. K

   As I looked out the window yesterday afternoon at the relentlessly falling snowI was reminded of how glaciers start...one insignificant snowflake added to another, ad infinitum...and considered once again the age-old question; will the earth end in fire, or in ice?

   Right now we are all "waiting for a chinook," that warm wind whooshing down from the mountains that presages spring,  so poignantly represented by the famous Western artist, Charles M. Russell.