And So It Begins..... Again!

Well folks, it's that magical time of year when Old Man Winter shows up dressed as Frosty the Buzzkill. Right on cue, he’s thrown his annual Halloween snowstorm just to keep us humble. Because nothing says "festive fall fun" like shoveling your porch in a witch hat while trying not to slip on pumpkin guts.

Usually, these early flurries don’t stick around long. The sun will put in a few extra appearances, trying to convince us we’ve still got a bit of fall left. It’s a noble effort—futile, but noble. I like to think of it as Autumn’s version of, “Wait, I wasn’t done yet!” But even the maples are starting to look nervous.

Last year, though? Oh, we got played. Snow moved in mid-October like an unwanted houseguest and didn’t pack its bags until late May. That’s seven months of winter. Seven. That’s over half a year of the landscape looking like a powdered sugar doughnut. I started measuring time in shovelfuls and lost all feeling in my upper arms somewhere around March.

So now I’m side-eyeing this snowfall with deep mistrust. Is it a harmless little prank? Or the first icy warning shot of a winter that plans to overstay its welcome again? Up here in the north country, you don’t assume anything—you just mutter under your breath, check your firewood pile, and question all your life choices.

Either way, it's time to make the annual pilgrimage to get those snow tires put on. Preferably before every other procrastinator in town remembers at the same exact moment and the waiting list starts looking like the DMV line on a Monday morning. Waiting until the first real storm hits is a bold strategy, and by bold, I mean foolish bordering on tragic.

So here’s to hoping this snow is just a flurry with commitment issues. But just in case? Better dig out the snow shovels and the livestock water heaters, and start buttering up the plow guy. We might be in for another long one because Mother Nature certainly doesn’t care what the calendar says. If she wants Christmas in October and mud season in June, well, buckle up buttercup.