Crazy Montana Weather!

We have a saying here: "If you don't like the weather - wait 5 minutes."  I remember more than one occasion in this valley when it was 82 degrees one day and snow flakes falling the next! I love the Spring because it's very common to be in a torrential downpour while the sun is shining brightly! One big isolated cloud will be gushing it's contents while the rest of the sky is clear and blue. It's beautiful!

Last week we had a sunny snow storm. Snowflakes falling in the sun is a surreal sight. These flakes were "falling" horizontally! They painted the south side of all the trees, then the wind stopped and left everything as bright and calm as before against the backdrop of a bright blue sky.

Like most other places, we used to get a lot more snow on the average than we do these days. But last winter we got dumped on pretty hard.

This is my husband and oldest son shoveling off the garage and lean-to.

 

Our mailboxes.

Daniel with his prized icicle.

The road to my house.

A view from my deck.

Dad, finding his sidewalk.

A cold day on the ski slopes.

Here are a few more frosty day pictures:

And of course, where there is crazy weather - there are crazy people! This is the annual Polar Plunge held on New Year's Day on Flathead Lake. Some years, ice has to be broken up for the "crazies" to get in the water. The guy sitting in the water in the center of the second picture, is my husband. (We're only related by marriage. :-))

Now you know why I grew up preparedness-minded! The snow last winter typifies what every winter was like - and often we had a lot more than that. I knew to never get in the car and leave without having a pair of boots, warm hat, mittens and face scarf, a blanket, and basic first aid and emergency kits. It could be clear and mild when you left the house, but we knew the weather could change dramatically within a very short time. Living several miles out of town, up steep gravel roads with only our home and my grandparent's ranch at the end of it, I had to leave the car in the snow and walk the last mile on more than one occasion! Our road was not the county snowplow's top priority when a blizzard hit. And there were no cell phones. 

I'm grateful for having been taught to take responsibility for myself and others, and to be as prepared as possible for whatever situation I might find myself in. As I've traveled and lived in more populated areas, the matches and pocket knife I ALWAYS have in my purse, have been the topic of many good-natured chidings. But I, and many others, have sure been glad they were there on a whole lot of occasions! 

Most of us live where there is food, water and shelter always around us. It's so easy to take the convenience for granted and then be caught off guard when they are gone. The blizzards, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and power-outages that have been happening around the globe, are prompting many more people to plan for the unexpected. And then there are the others - who watch the news in amazement, but don't think it will ever happen to them. Or maybe just haven't made it a high enough priority to take inventory and start stocking up yet. Please start preparing now, and if you've already begun - keep going! A lot of people around you will be in need if a disaster strikes. Preparedness is Peace of Mind!

It's better to have it and not need it - 

than need it and not have it!