The Snow Culture is Changing

Since returning home from the recent Nordic trip I've been working to get caught up with office details and shoveling snow.

Even before I returned Maine was hit with a massive snow dump - about two feet of snow.  Mary Beth did alot of the cleaning up and we have a big house and driveway that require much care after a big snow.  The buildup on the roof had to wait for me to come home and try to rake some of it off.  It's amazing the weight that snow can put onto a roof.

Instead of going to the local YMCA I get alot of good aerobic exercise shoveling and I love doing it.  Likely all those years of sweating so much in hot, humid Florida left me itching to grab a shovel.  We complain now and then about it but there is nothing more peaceful, and beautiful, than right after a big snowfall.  I love being in it.

While in Gothenburg, Sweden (where we only saw a light dusting of snow) one young man told me he grew up in the winter snow culture.  His younger brother though has not had those experiences due to changes in global weather patterns.  He longs for snow but it has not been coming in recent years.

Our winter began being unusually mild - very little of the traditional hard Maine cold - in fact many of the regions lakes and rivers have not frozen solid.  We had very little snow until this recent big dump.  So the patterns are thrown off and fluctuating wildly.  Our Mother Earth's body is in toxic shock as she tries to shake the fleas (us) off her back.

We broke three plastic snow shovels during this recent dump - so even the shovels had a limit to what they could handle.  Housemate Brown Lethem went to the local hardware store to get a couple new shovels and few were to be found for sale.

Some of my Florida friends keep an eye on my snow escapades so I am sure they will enjoy this latest story.  One of them once said that I'd be back down to the Sunshine State after one year in Maine (and then amended her prediction to two years acknowledging I am very stubborn) but I can report I'm pretty well set here now.

I'll keep shoveling as best I can and hope the American people will rise up and demand we stop building war machines and instead do a quick reversal away from our fossil fuel economy.  We could create more jobs if we went fully to sustainable living.

Sadly most folks are just hustling to make a buck and many have given up paying attention.  Fortunately there are legions around the world still in the fight.

Hoka hey!

Bruce