By Bob Spiwak
Gee, this is almost getting boring. Another sunny Monday morning. The forecast for later in the week calls for some snow, but we have been seeing this for close to a month and so far it has not materialized. My own mantra, and maybe that of a few others, is that the biggest dumps are encountered in March, usually wetter than in the legitimate months we know as winter.
That said, the vernal equinox comes around March 21, issuing spring. We have many trees budding, even those that got hammered in the pre- Christmas ice-rain-snow storm that busted a lot of branches, and even big trees. We’ve also encountered a few flies in the house already, so real spring may be right around the corner. Robins and bluebirds have been spotted.
Even more imminent is the ritual of setting the clocks and watches ahead to usher in Daylight Saving Time. This changing of the timepieces twice a year was born during World War II to lengthen the daylight for factories and other war-effort endeavors. Its benefit these days is questionable, at least to people I have spoken with. Anyhow, the change occurs officially after 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8. Two weeks away.
Also in our future is another annual project, the requisite removal of studded tires from vehicles. This is ordinarily early in April (a month ahead) but frequently extended if the weather is snowy and icy. A joyful time in the valley for the several purveyors of tires.
Up yonder at Harts Pass the snow/water equivalent is at 34.2 inches, up half an inch from last week, while the depth of snow at 6,500 feet measured 77 inches, a loss of another inch for the same period.
A couple of weeks ago we reported the loss of a woman’s ski boot and asked anyone who found it to contact us. While writing this opus today, the phone rang and the good news is that the shoe was found. The owner/finder was embarrassed enough to request that her identity not be recorded in this internationally read column but did convey that the errant footwear had appeared under the passenger seatback of her car, the seatback having been put in prone position after she’d skied. It’s always ironically encouraging at our age to hear of others’ forgetfulness, and I am happy for her for finding it as well as losing it in the manner she did.
The end of the extended holiday weekend (which lasted over a week) was quite noticeable in the lack of traffic both on the road and especially at the Mazama Store. Despite today’s bluebird weather, there were no skiers to be seen on the snow, only two vehicles in the ordinarily over-full Mazama Store parking lot, and within the store the SLIME crew outnumbered a paucity of customers. This in comparison to the elbow-to-elbow gobs of shoppers during holiday times.
