Where is Winter?

Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have lost one of our seasons up here in Sumpter, Oregon. In fact, Winter appears to be missing in Oregon altogether. Ski resorts across Oregon are anticipating record losses.

Looking outside, it looks more like May, and being outside feels more like spring; birds chirping, squirrels playing, all the basic sounds of spring. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much gravel in January.

I should be honest here and say that I have enjoyed not having to dig out with the snow shovel every day or start up the snowplow. It just seems odd that I have not had to plow at all this season. However, my wife has enjoyed being able to drive down the mountain more than she normally can in January.

Don’t misunderstand – just because we seem to be severely lacking in snow, does not mean it’s not cold, because, YES, it is cold – in fact, many nights it would have had to warm up to snow.

So what are we to do now that it seems we will have no winter this year and spring seems to be here already? Without putting away the snow shovels yet, we are already beginning our spring project list, so maybe this year we will end up ahead of schedule this summer instead of woefully behind as is the norm.

I feel disappointed by the lack of snow—no snowmen, no snowballs, and no sledding to bring in firewood. However, living here has taught us to adapt to each season and prepare for the next. We’ve learned that it’s best to always prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. While we wait, I decided to make do with a sort of artificial snowman, if you will! 🙂

See what last winter looked like. Watch the Sumpter Snow Playlist at my Youtube Channel: Mark Way Up