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Bah, humbug! Where is the snow! I love snow. I wait all year for snow. The firewood is stacked, the hot chocolate is ready, and the dogs and I sit watching out the window waiting for snow, but this year – to no avail.
I realize you may think I am crazy, or a little out of sorts, or should ask me to move to Alaska or something, but actually, I like the Midwest just fine. One great think about the Midwest is that it has all four seasons. What many people do not realize is that there is a reason for the seasons. I have heard a lot of people lately remarking on how great it is that we are having such a mild winter.
A mild winter with little to no snow does mean safer roadways and that is important. However, no snow and mild temperatures are not good for us for all kinds of other reasons. As winter progresses, I keep hoping we will get some colder temperatures and I am sure the farmers do to.
One reason we need the snow is for the moisture that snow brings. We used to hear a lot about winter kill. Spring thaw would come and some of the small trees and shrubs would not come out of the winter spell. No buds, no greening up, no life. They would be dead and we would say they died of “winter kill.” In fact, winter kill is caused by desiccation, or lack of water to the plants.
One foot of snow equals one inch of rainwater. So, imagine a year like this when we are getting hardly any snow or rain. Our plants, shrubs, and trees are going to have a tough time not only greening up for spring, but gearing up for a hot summer. This also means our water table (below the ground) is dropping lower without being replenished, so if we have a spring and summer with low rain our old, big trees will have an even harder time getting enough water throughout the year.
Another reason we need colder temperatures is to kill many of the insects and bugs that over-winter. A mild winter means that bothersome creatures like ticks, mosquitoes, flies, aphids, gnats, and lots of other bugs and beetles are going to be in large populations this summer. Yuck! Below freezing temperatures are what keep many insect and bug populations in check.
What is it our mothers used to always say when the medicine was going down? Oh yeah – It may be nasty, but it is good for you!
So, there may be some reasons why we do not like the cold, snowy weather, but we’re from the Midwest and it’s good for us!
Lynn Youngblood is a Kansas City-based naturalist who writes for Gatehouse Media.
Bah, humbug! Where is the snow! I love snow. I wait all year for snow. The firewood is stacked, the hot chocolate is ready, and the dogs and I sit watching out the window waiting for snow, but this year – to no avail.
I realize you may think I am crazy, or a little out of sorts, or should ask me to move to Alaska or something, but actually, I like the Midwest just fine. One great think about the Midwest is that it has all four seasons. What many people do not realize is that there is a reason for the seasons. I have heard a lot of people lately remarking on how great it is that we are having such a mild winter.
A mild winter with little to no snow does mean safer roadways and that is important. However, no snow and mild temperatures are not good for us for all kinds of other reasons. As winter progresses, I keep hoping we will get some colder temperatures and I am sure the farmers do to.
One reason we need the snow is for the moisture that snow brings. We used to hear a lot about winter kill. Spring thaw would come and some of the small trees and shrubs would not come out of the winter spell. No buds, no greening up, no life. They would be dead and we would say they died of “winter kill.” In fact, winter kill is caused by desiccation, or lack of water to the plants.
One foot of snow equals one inch of rainwater. So, imagine a year like this when we are getting hardly any snow or rain. Our plants, shrubs, and trees are going to have a tough time not only greening up for spring, but gearing up for a hot summer. This also means our water table (below the ground) is dropping lower without being replenished, so if we have a spring and summer with low rain our old, big trees will have an even harder time getting enough water throughout the year.
Another reason we need colder temperatures is to kill many of the insects and bugs that over-winter. A mild winter means that bothersome creatures like ticks, mosquitoes, flies, aphids, gnats, and lots of other bugs and beetles are going to be in large populations this summer. Yuck! Below freezing temperatures are what keep many insect and bug populations in check.
What is it our mothers used to always say when the medicine was going down? Oh yeah – It may be nasty, but it is good for you!
So, there may be some reasons why we do not like the cold, snowy weather, but we’re from the Midwest and it’s good for us!
Lynn Youngblood is a Kansas City-based naturalist who writes for Gatehouse Media.
