The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Snow Its Purpose

by Dessa Rodeffer
Quill Editor/Publisher

Burr-r-r-r-r ....it sure is cold (17 degree low) and it doesn't help when my daughter calls from northern Colorado in ski territory, and tells me it is 46 degrees.

Fort Collins' forecast for today is 52 degrees, nearly as high as Las Vegas, NV's 59 degrees.

Henderson County's forecast is 42 degrees with a "Real Feel" temperature of 32 degrees but at least no one is predicting snow.

We've had enough snow for a few weeks and I hate to think what an overdose would do to the Mississippi this spring.

Monday night I had an experience when my husband called saying he was having difficulty with a calf that had unexpectedly been born in the afternoon. He was laying in a snow drift half froze and he finally got her away from its mother and into his pickup truck in an attempt to thaw him out.

It wasn't working and he was getting tired from the long ordeal so he brought the calf home and we put him in old comforters and towels in the basement.

After rubbing him and failing to get him to respond, we put the heating pad on him. We talked to our friend, Dr. Ken Nimrick about some possibilities who said putting him in a tub of warm water would revive him most.

We decided against that. Instead I took buckets of very warm water and soaked towels in them and wrapped them repeatedly around his legs keeping the water very warm. I would say short prayers thinking about the verses in Genesis where God put us in charge of caring for the animals.

Right away the calf lifted his head as he trembled all over. Eventually the ice cold feeling in his legs left and I wrapped towels around each leg and covered him up.

I filled his bottle with warm milk and tried to feed him to warm him up further. Working his mouth open he took a tight hold and drank about 1/4 cup of milk. I called my husband and he said that was a good sign.

He drank again when Mike fed him a couple of times and by late morning after another small drink he stood up on his own and tried to follow me a few steps, staggering. By afternoon he was back bonding to his mother who was hesitant in taking her back.

Although there are fun sports in the snow, it sure makes it difficult for farmers.

As Michael's cows near calving time, they are brought to the barn lot, but sometimes one can be overlooked .

However, the added moisture is good for the crops and in parts of the United States it's of even more importance.

SNOW IN ALASKA

A December letter from Mrs. Tom (Linda McChes-ney) Eisenmayer of Anchorage, Alaska described its importance. She writes,

"FINALLY it is snowing here today. We've already cheated winter out of 6-7 weeks of ice and snow but this snow today is quite pathetic and Iowan in nature. "In Anchorage... Ôreal' snow falls straight down because we have very little wind.

"Snow usually falls dry and fluffy and absolutely pristine. Looking outside its as if the entire world is encompassed in one of those snow globes that you shake in your hand.

"Snow is very important to us. It is the crucial raw material that is needed to Ôfuel' our six month winters. Although driving is safer and faster without snow and ice underfoot there's more eye strain after dark if our roadbeds are not bordered in reflective, white powder.

"With 17 hours of darkness each day the nights seem so much darker. Whole industries can crumble if we don't get enough snow.

"Outdoor enthusiasts get cranky in its absence..... Freezing temperatures that do not produce snow leave only ice skating and ice fishing as options. Fortunately there are four or five heated indoor hockey rinks as well as an outdoor rink at each public school in the state."

"Because snow is such an effective insulator the longer we go without it's protective ground cover the deeper the soil will freeze.

"Our city water and sewer lines are buried just nine feet down, I believe. The last winter we had minimal snowfall the frost line came within ten inches or so of freezing them.

"It keeps plumbers on call most of the season running around thawing pipes for home owners and such.

"The biggest pain in the neck that results from a snowless winter is what happens during Break Up. By the summer equinox we have over 19 hours of daylight so by April our snow is melting rapidly by day but we still have freezing temperatures every night. If our snow behaves and starts falling deeply by the second week of October the ground has hardly had a chance to freeze more than a few inches and remains protected under what should be at least four feet of snow the rest of the winter. It's as if Break Up comes overnight. The dry ground acts as a sponge soaking up the melted snow nearly as fast as it thaws.

"It's intoxicating to watch as winter packs her bags and is gone within a couple of weeks. But I'm afraid it's too late for that scenario this year. Instead we are probably in for a very messy, prolonged Break Up with sink holes and small ponds of melted snow sitting atop frozen ground, refreezing every night and slowly disappearing.

"The side streets are horrendous with six inches or more of slush that change configuration every time the temperatures dip below freezing. It makes finding your car in a parking lot very difficult as everyone's vehicles are the same filthy shade of gray-brown."