Snow in Michigan

Living in lower, Western Michigan is a treat in all seasons. Beautiful landscapes, incredible sunsets, equally incredible lake shore, no end to athletic activities, cultural events, local award winning breweries, bike trails going just about everywhere, did I mention local award winning breweries and lately anyway plenty of mystery when it comes to weather. This year, instead of shoveling snow from my driveway, I am tempted to put vegetable seedlings into the garden. 50*! 55*! Holy Cow! It has been my custom to build a huge, 12 foot tall sled run in my front yard for family and neighborhood kids during December. January and February until the first really big thaw occurred in the last week of February or the first week of March. In the back yard I put a short snow wall around half the back yard and filled it with water that froze into a small ice skating rink. It worked well. Occasionally a two or three day warm up would put a skin of water on the surfaces of the sled run and the ice rink but that only served to make the surfaces faster and more fun. The thaw almost never lasted long enough to stop the fun. Three years ago, maybe four, we were inundated with three quarters of a dozen inches of snow driven by 20 mile an hour winds over the course of 2 days. I'm not wishing for that mind you, just stating facts. Aesthetically speaking it was a magnificent visual spectacle totally encompassing what the Michigan wintertime experience is. Skiing, sledding, tobogganing, ice skating and body shops overflowing with vehicle collision repairs. That's been my Michigan for most of my lifetime. Today 43*, tomorrow 53* Saturday 55*. It takes some adjustment. So much free time and money usually spent in shoveling, driving slow, delays due to accidents and high heating costs, extra gasoline to warm up the car, you know stuff like that. The other thing I've learned from living in Michigan: Don't get used to anything! Sure as the sun comes the weather will change and bring yet another surprise. So, in light of that wisdom, I guess I'll simply wait until the normal growing season to plant my seedlings. I don't pray for any particular weather, I've been bitten with undesirable results and now I simply pray for the wisdom and strength to deal with whatever comes and most of all, enjoy it to the best of my ability. Come to think of it, weather in Michigan and life itself have a great deal in common don't they?