Jackie Wells-Fauth
I had everything handled, you know. I knew what the weather was going to be like every single day. And just as I was fully adjusted to what South Dakota was throwing out for this winter season, she pulled a fast one and went back to the third version of winter.
I know that when you live in South Dakota, you will take whatever winter chooses to throw at you. But on years like this one, I can kind of fool myself that I’m living in San Diego or some other year-round mild temperature spot. I will admit it; I have enjoyed the warm days and long walks not on my treadmill. Of course the dog has also enjoyed the times outside, running through dusty tracks and scaring up pheasants.
As far as I’m concerned, this could have gone on indefinitely, but in South Dakota that’s not how it works. Here we have many more than four seasons: There’s the One Day of Spring, Summer on the Equator, the Sweet Fall and the Evil Fall, Winter Part 1, Winter Part 2, Faking You Out That It’s Spring Winter and End of Winter—April Fools!
And End of Winter—April Fools is where we are now. I had all my winter things put away. I had transferred the junk I always carry in my pockets from my winter jacket to my spring jacket, my boots were stored, shovels were shelved and even the fans were set out.
Of course, this winter has not been very typical for South Dakota. We have had warm, dry, record-setting weather all winter to the point where my father the farmer would have said, “Gonna be a dry summer if we don’t get some snow pretty soon.”
Well, he would be pleased that we are in End of Winter—April Fools season now. It is wet, icy and very bright. For myself, I look out at the snow and think, “April showers, God, it’s April showers! A little rain wouldn’t have hurt anything.”
When you get snow in End of Winter—April Fools season it means shoveling. And since, thankfully, the snow is nearly liquid and very heavy, shoveling is hard work. And all the while I’m shoveling, I’m thinking, “If I let this go for a day, it would melt on its own.” It is in the soul of a South Dakotan to shovel, though, even during End of Winter—April Fools season.
I’m looking forward to One Day of Spring season before we hit Summer on the Equator, but from the looks of it, that will be a little bit longer in arriving. In the meantime, I’m slopping my way through icy slush and wondering how I got the mud mess on the back of my trousers. I’m trying to figure out how to convince the dog to wipe her feet and I’m watching the flocks of birds hovering in the tops of the trees while their food fields are covered with snow. And that scene reminds me of an old Alfred Hitchcock movie that still haunts my dreams!
I’ve scraped the latest snow off my deck and now it sits in a wet pool on the ground below, and I can almost hear the lawn sucking it down. I didn’t need hat or mittens to work out there and by the time I got back in the house, I was covered with sweat, all over the inside of the winter coat I had just dry-cleaned for the season. I forgot there is a season between Faking You Out That It’s Spring season and the One Day of Spring season, so now I have to do all those end of the winter things all over again.
I’m kind of thinking I’m going to set up the lawn furniture and grill and have a picnic tonight; you know, get a jump on that One Day of Spring Season—it’s always so short. I’m encouraged by the warming temperatures, but then again, I’ve lived long enough in South Dakota to know that there’s no telling about End of the Winter—April’s Fools season. Everyone needs to stay alert and not put those shovels away yet.
dropsinthewell 