Least favorite time of year
The last full week of March and it finally feels like spring is close. The snow is almost gone in Columbia Falls except for scattered piles where it was pushed off the streets. Still a lot of snow on the North Fork but it is shrinking and one resident reported ‘post holing’ with snowshoes on her feet. That can make for real work!
The road? It is pretty normal for this time of year. The potholes are multiplying. There are patches of ice in shaded areas and water is running everywhere. County roadwork has reduced areas where water stands on the road, but it still pays to be watchful.
As a result a trip to town takes more time and increases the need to wash the vehicle, but at least our road isn’t salted in the winter to reduce ice – only in the summer to reduce dust. Yes, magnesium chloride is a salt and probably as corrosive as sodium chloride (table salt).
This is my least favorite time of year. It is still too cold for T–shirts and shorts and there is too much snow for hiking or cruising on my ATV. Not to mention mud. Some North Forkers visit southern relatives; and some just stay home and read a good book or dream about the great summer that will be here soon. Somehow we do not think about the mosquitoes that will arrive later in the spring.
Even though the North Fork is fairly isolated, we too have spent the last two years dealing with Covid–19. I think most of us are now vaccinated, had Covid or both, so hopefully, this year will be more like normal.
We are all concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and note that it is eerily like the beginning of World War II. I even heard one person say that maybe Joe Biden will become known as the Neville Chamberlain of this century. I sure hope not because I don’t see a new Winston Churchill anywhere, let alone a Franklin Roosevelt.
I guess most of us will just have to hope and pray for things to get better and that our government will take care of us.
In the meantime enjoy our special place, be kind to your family and friends, pet your dog and try to think positive.
What do you think?