still waiting for the first ski-able snow

We had a few inches of snow on the ground the other day and I was tempted to ski the campus loop. But the campus loop has a few short but steep downhills that can be tricky to stay upright on. It hurts to fall when there's not enough snow so I chose not to try it. I also rationalized that the snow wasn't cold enough and would make snowballs under the skis. Then it rained and the snow went away. That's about the third time I found myself saying "we'll be looking at snow now" only to have my hopes dissolve with the rain. Tonight we're supposed to get a good snowfall and it's supposed to stay cold next week, so soon enough it will be ski season. Otherwise, it's the stationary bike which is really not much fun at all.

Snow is nice where people know how to live with it. I think most of us up here see snow removal as a legitimate role of local government and don't gripe about paying taxes to support snow removal. I know I'm always glad to see the snowplow come through and when I get a chance I tell the snowplow driver that. We've even been known to give the driver cinnamon rolls, just to thank them, not to try to get better service. I'm glad there are still people willing to get up in the middle of the night and go out in the cold to clear the roads just as I'm glad there are still people willing to go out in a storm and climb a utility pole to restore power.