This morning as I write this it is -5 degrees F
here on the edge of the Palouse grassland where it meets the forest of the
Bitterroot Mountains. It is cold and wintery here but I just spent the weekend
on the Snake River plain where the weather was sunny and promising of spring.
There weren’t any snow banks and I felt comfortable to be outside without a
coat just soaking up the sunshine. I live in a state with a variety of climates
from high desert to temperate rain forests.
The
United States has even more climate varieties than just the state of Idaho.
Right now I could find even colder climates on the vast arctic tundra of Alaska
or I could be sunning myself in the semi-tropical beaches of South Florida. We
live in a country that has any climate the northern hemisphere has to offer. I
feel very fortunate to have been to all fifty of these United states and to
have experienced at least a portion of what those states and their climates
offer. I am prone to loving all four distinct seasons so I’m lucky to live
where I do. But at this time of year when it should be turning to spring yet
winter has a firmer grip on us than it has all season, I dream of swimming with
sea turtles on a beach in Hawaii. While work usually prevents me from doing
that, I have had the chance to do it. I know all kinds of retired people who
leave their northern homes to winter in Arizona or southern California. We are
fortunate as a nation to have the opportunities that we do in regard to
visiting and experiencing a variety of climates without ever leaving our
homeland. This is just one of the many hundreds of things that I am thankful
for as an American, so when I’m grousing about scraping the ice off my
windshield or hearing the latest news about some idiotic politician I can
imagine hiking amongst saguaro cacti and then when I’m by the fire with a cup
of coffee I can plan my trip there and go for that hike in the desert.
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