A NORTHERN PRAIRIE SPRING

      We've had a week of bright , warm, sunny weather. We are calling it spring.

      Spring here is a little different than warmer areas because of our winter. I've told you often enough about our cold and that residents here don't really mind the cold. What happens with the constant cold is that the ground freezes. That causes some difference in our spring. Sometimes the ground will freeze down to a depth of 8 ft. Frozen ground is rock hard. Before the days of heavy equipment very little excavation was done in the winter. In the country at one time, graves were dug by hand. One thing they did was to light a coal fire and this would thaw the ground. 

      Okay, because the ground is frozen the water from melting snow and ice has no here to go. The frozen soil can't absorb moisture. So as a result my street is a slow moving  mess of  water , slush and ice. We talk about spring run off when water from melting snow and ice drains into small creeks. 

     We also have a problem with dirt and gravel roads in the spring "when the frost is coming out". There are soft spots and hard spots because of the uneven thawing of the ground. So holes form in the road and then when rain comes these holes fill with water. We have road bans which keep heavy equipment off the roads for a few weeks. Most activity in the oil industry ceases in the spring because the heavy equipment is not allowed on roads. 

    So my spring has pleasantly sprung. But do you know what is in my forecast three days from now? 5 to 10 cm of snow!