THE SILVER LINING...

Needless to say, New England has had it up to their ears in the with snow, as well as the cold that prevents it from melting and simply going away.   Snow control and removal budgets are, for the most part, nearly depleted due to the record breaking snowfall here for the month of January.Our area has been hit with 56 inches of snow, just this month alone.   The snow banks are so high, even on the main drags, that it makes those of us old wise enough to remember when cars had tall antennas and bright colored things such as ping-pong balls or flags stuck at the very top, warning on-coming traffic a vehicle was soon to emerge from behind a mountain of snow.     People are cranky, drivers are raging, the snowbanks are dirty and just when one thought it couldn't get worse...

A director of meteorological studies here in the state explains it all.  "There is no immediate change on the horizon."   He goes on to relate this is due to a persistent high pressure over Greenland, a phenomenon known as 'North Atlantic Oscillation.'   This high pressure blocks the cold air from lifting out of the Northeast.     

Wonderful.  They name the major winter storms, this does not include the squalls that leave an inch or two of the white stuff before moving on.  Our last was Denis.  With one 'N.'  Just to be clear about this.

On rare sunny days like today, one notices a marked difference in the mood of the general public, which makes it hard to imagine how those poor souls in Alaska manage with all those months of relative darkness.

Which brings me to the Silver Lining.   Even though, at this point, there is no end in sight due to this weird weather phenomenon which has a 90 to 120 day cycle, once it does break, it means...............

AN EARLY SPRING.        All righty then, I can deal with the rest of the bloody cycle.