…Chapped lips!

We’re into week two or three now of a nearly continual inversion here in Salt Lake City. Temperatures are usually in the single-digits every morning and may climb to the low 20’s by afternoon only to plummet again the moment the sun goes down. This is probably the longest period of uninterrupted snow on the ground I’ve seen in decades.

And I can’t enjoy it because it’s so darn cold. I like snow. You only need to go through the pictures I took with my new camera to see just how much I like snow–when I’m not out in it, anyway. But this is really starting to get old. I’m reminded of a line by Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day:

You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.

Now I realize that in just a few months I’ll probably be longing for cold weather again. Such is life in the high desert. We get the extremes. Although I shouldn’t complain. While we were down around 3 degrees today, West Yellowstone was at -32 degrees. Things could be worse.

I think it’s January in general. There’s nothing particularly exciting about January. The only holiday we get to look forward to is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No offense to Dr. King, but it’s not on most people’s Top 5 Holidays list. January is cold and snowy, or cold and muddy. Christmas is over and the bills are coming due. There’s not much to recommend the month. Sorry, January, but that’s just how it is. The fun part of winter is over. The only remaining question is how long this is going to go on.

And we don’t even get to find that out until February. Someone shake the groundhog awake. I’m ready for a little variety. Even if it ‘s not spring for a couple more months yet, I could use something other than cold, hazy (smoggy), and dry. I’ll even take more snow (we could use it after last year), so long as it’s different.

Why yes, I’d love some cheese with my whine.