Looking forward to mud

I knew it was bad when folks around here quit saying we could use the moisture.

Following last year’s wicked drought, I swore I’d never again complain about too much rain or snow. There was a time – not so long ago—that I thought it would never end. Up until the middle of December, the weather remained warm and dry. There had even been a wildfire south of Malta on Thanksgiving.

Then the switch flipped. It got cold and started to snow. Since the first of the year there have only been a couple of days when the temperatures reached 40 degrees.

For much of Montana, the snow comes and goes. When I moved to Livingston from Cooke City, it was in part to get out of the snow. Not that it doesn’t snow in Livingston, it just rarely lasts more than a couple of weeks. Blame or credit the wind.

Cooke, on the other hand, is typically buried by snow seven months a year. This year is no exception. There’s nearly twice the amount of snow on the ground that there normally is in the tiny town at 7,600 feet in the Beartooth Mountains.

Malta, where I now live, sits at a measly 2,250 feet, but it appears to be more a case of latitude than altitude this year that’s kept me in the deep freeze. We’re just too close to Canada.

To be fair, this is only the second winter since we moved here in 2006 that’s tested my patience. Typical winters are a bit on the chilly side, but this isn’t considered snow country. Like anywhere in Montana, however, it has that potential.

And this year it’s living up to it.

The forecast calls for snow and cold through the end of March, so there’s little chance the landscape will bare off anytime soon.

During the bad winter of 2011, I bought a couple of snowblowers, chains for my boots, and an ergonomic snow shovel. This time I went a different route, investing instead in micro-brews and fishing tackle. I thought if I ignored the snow and cold, it would go away. Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed any difference. The snow’s as deep as ever. It’s still 20 degrees colder than average.

At least spring has finally arrived. I plan to get out and enjoy it just as soon as the snow melts. I’m looking forward to mud.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected].