Minnesotans Really Are Tougher than Texans

Since Wednesday afternoon (today is Sat.) here's kind of what we looked like...

Total amount is really unknown no matter what the news says...from O" where the wind blasted it, to a couple of feet, probably 12-15" between the 2 hits. Finally today we awoke to that brilliant after-the-storm sunshine.

We've been plowing (4 times) since this started so this morning just took a bit of cleanup. Our neighbor Jerry Notch came over and blew out the loading dock (what would we do without Jerry and Carol). The poor old Jeep ('78 CJ7) is getting a well-deserved rest today.

Of course this all started last Saturday just as we started our annual "Widows, Orphans, Old Men and some Kids" Clearance Sale in the Gallery. Needless to say it's been a bit quieter than normal...but not too bad. Those hardy Minnesotans, ya know.

The advantage of snow at this time of year is the moisture helps the farmers but the snow melts pretty quickly. Around here (45 degN) about February 17th, the sun gets high enough that we have a net gain in heat everyday. Snow melts from the bottom up....the light goes through, hits the dark earth below and warms the lower layers.

So now you know.