Snow, for warm climates

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Greetings friends, Seeing as here in Minnesota we have already had our first snowfall and it will likely be with us until Spring I thought this might be a good time to describe what life with snow and ice is like for those of you who do not live in a climate where it stays around for months out of the year. Minnesota, is the US. state which is farthest North , right under Canada, and East to West speaking - is in the Middle of the US. (Where I live is right next to the Mississippi river which divides east from west in the US.) That being said we live with snow and ice for approximately November thru April. Yes, about 6 months. Early in the season, we may receive snow that melts when it touches the ground. However usually by mid - November lawns are covered so no grass shows and the snow is here to stay until April. There are different types of snow - some comes down as little icey pellets. Some as hard, dry flakes. This is ideal for winter removal as it is usually light weight. Some comes down in big clusters of flakes and is very heavy and wet. Beautiful to look at and yet oh so hard to remove. When it's realllllllllllllllllly cold out, I mean single digits in Fahrenheit or negative digits, then - you can actually see the individual patterns in the little flakes themselves. Oh so tiny, but also oh so detailed. Beautiful, but .... who wants to stand around too long to look when it is oh so cold out it. The best snow for snow balls, snow fort building, and the like is the heavy wet stuff. As for snow removal, it is quite heavy. Once the snow is here to stay, you cannot expect just to wear it down. What happens is you create ice which is hard, lumpy and uneven. Not ideal for walking, or for driving. Speaking of driving , one must be very careful. Allow longer to get places. Do not crowd other cars. Start slowing down early. No sudden moves with the wheel or the gas or brakes. Behind the wheels sometimes large boulders of ice accumulate on your car. You should try to kick these off as you can. Sometimes they just let loose as you're driving too. Large rocks made out of snow and ice. When we get close to spring - the snow is no longer pristine white. Instead it appears greyish and dirty. So - tropical climate folks, did you find this interesting? Fellow snow dwellers - how did I do describing ? PhotoL Pixabay user Alain Audette