It’s a very pretty scene, isn’t it? But this is something we can’t see where we live unless we drive north for an hour at least. Snow is a once in a very rare blue moon kind of thing here, and even if it does get cold enough to drop snow, it doesn’t do much more than a dusting, and certainly does not stay on the ground.

I’ve always thought that part of the reason it really never quite seems like Christmas around here come December, is that we never see snow, at least not like in that picture.  When I was young we lived in Kansas where it did snow, and I remember there being snow drifts six feet high or more.  If I recall correctly, I think one year my dad even had to dig out a walk way from the front door with the snow piled up at least three feet high – at the door.

Granted it didn’t always snow by Christmas, but the chances were far far greater of it happening there than where we live now.  And if there was no snow on the ground at Christmas, it was not likely to be very long before there was some later.

Sometimes I see pictures like this and a small part of me misses seeing snow up close and personal.  But then I remember just how cold it has to be for there to even BE snow, and how I can’t stand the cold almost as much as I detest the summer heat here, and then I don’t miss it quite so much.

Although that has not stopped me from pondering what it would be like to move away from here, to somewhere where there could be a greater possibility of getting snow, and where it doesn’t get quite as hot as it does here.  I had my eye on the Portland, Oregon area for a while earlier this year, and even contemplated planning a weekend visit there at some point to get an idea of what it is like.  I have heard – and observed with my weather tracker – that it rains quite a bit there.  I don’t think I would mind all that rain, to be honest.

Rain is another rarity here, although we do actually get rain now and then, but not like in the Pacific Northwest.  Our rain comes in fits and spurts, often the most vicious storms in the summer time, which we call our monsoon season.  And then usually there are a few rain storms spread out over the fall and winter, but unlike the PacNW where it can rain for a couple of weeks, although it may be light, we get ours pretty much all at once over one or two days.  Flash flooding is not unheard of here, and I think the state had to enact the “stupid motorist” law where, if someone got caught in a wash (where a road is normally perfectly drivable when dry) when it was flooded, then that person is required to pay for the expenses of the fire department for rescuing them.  Especially if the person was dumb enough to drive past signs that clearly say the road is closed due to flooding.  Duh!

But anyway. Back to the topic of snow. As I said, in order for us to see snow we have to drive about an hour or more north to higher elevations that get snowfall.  We even have a couple of ski resorts up north, although I am not a skiier so we don’t visit them.  But now with our daughter, we may find ourselves visiting up north somewhere that has snow so she can at least experience it while she is still young enough to think it is a blast playing in it.  Maybe not this winter, but probably next winter.

Edited 3/7/2017 to fix broken image.