Goodbye Winter, if that's what you want to call it!

This has been a poor winter for weather. Being a Canadian, I like a good cold winter with some nice snowy days and a foot or two of snow for enjoying some winter fun. Nothing crazy like 8-10 foot snow drifts but hey, it comes with the territory around here...sometimes. I like getting outside with the kids for sledding, snowball fights, making snowman or even shoveling the driveway, it can be fun if you do it with your family.
This year has been a curve ball. It is the first of march and we have maybe 3 inches of snow and that was received in the last day or so.

This past weekend while ice fishing, I noticed the sound of snowmobiles for the first time this winter. Nice! Nothing like investing a few thousand dollars into a new snowmobile and being able to use it for one weekend. I'm sure there are a few people disappointed on the purchase of a trail pass or booking of a winter holiday with plans to ride the trails.
Winter is a big part of our economy. Ski hills, ice hut operators, snowmobiles and related business all depend on a decent winter and this year will hurt them. Lots of workers also earn income by plowing or removing snow, a tough winter for them.

However all is not lost. I'm sure the vehicle accident rate is down and businesses and municipalities will have saved on snow clearing expenses. The deer, turkeys, moose and grouse will have enjoyed a good winter due to lack of snow. But something just seems to be missing this year and mostly it is the snow.

I suppose I shouldn't complain and I honestly don't think global warming has anything to do with this weather. It is just a mild winter. Of course, they have all kinds of reasons for it and everyone remembers the winters from "when I was a kid" but the seasons just fluctuate and this is a warm one. I will always remember speaking with and on old farmer in his 80's, who told me that during his lifetime he had plowed his fields in every month of the year. So I think this is one of those years when you could have taken a plow to the field in February and expected to get some work done.

So good bye winter of 2011-2012, you were disappointing for snow and cold. I did find some great ice fishing but even that will end soon with and early ice-out expected this spring.

I shall start my preparations for spring panfish, turkey hunting and of course the Rice Lake Fishing Festival.

http://ricelakefishingfestival.ca/home