Mother Nature's menopause

Today's weather was another progression in Mother Nature's fast approaching insanity, at least when it comes to Spokane. As of around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon, we had at least 4 inches of snow on the ground. It came down hard starting Saturday afternoon and didn't stop all night. That was in addition to the 2 inches or so we got the previous Monday. (It's a tradition here: the first snow always comes the Monday after Thanksgiving. It's slightly eerie.)

As of noon today, the only snow left on the ground is that which was previously packed for a snowman or left by plows in the parking lot. It rained straight from Sunday afternoon until this morning, when I walked outside in a T-shirt and was perfectly content. I just don't get it, sometimes.

But in spite of Mother Nature's ploys with my ability to dress weather-appropriate in the morning, I have been forced to examine just what I would define as "ideal weather." My fallback answer is usually just "spring." Granted, this is a season more than a specific climate, but what can you do. I think what appeals to me about spring is its optimism. Spring is a time of new life, new growth, new chances. It's an awakening out of the frozen depression of 4 months of grey winter. I'm not opposed to rain, or snow, or the occasional windstorm. I think all weather has a time and a place, and I love that seasons come and go, bringing a change of pace every 3 months (ideally). So maybe it's not spring that I love, but the idea that the world doesn't have to be stuck in a overcast gloom.