Four-letter Words

    I have a new four-letter word that is pure evil--at least in April anyway. Sno*w. The word that shall =not be named is fluffy and white and oh so pretty in November and Decembr, but gets a little old in April.

     Spring. This year that word has been an intangible. Here it is April 5,  and I've yet to see any green. Certainly not grass .I'll be the first to admit this has been a long winter.  November 9 was the last time 40 degrees came calling. November 9.

    My friends and  family query me often about my choice of residency. When a spring snowstorm dumps a foot of snow on ground that's already white with frozen precipitation. they tell me I'm crazy for living here Pre-Christmas, this white stuff is welcomed anticipated even. But not in April. Certainly not in April.

    I dream of escaping this land. A land I was only going to call home for five years. My husband and       I had it all figured out. Until five years became fifteen, and then twenty-five. And before you know it, you;re coming  up on your fortieth anniversary, in this iceberg, wondering how many blizzards you've lived through.

    For as hideous as the winter can be, though. summers are just the opposite. Big, brilliant, sun-filled-sky days morph into stunning sunsets which leave you breathless . The late summer sunsets extend the day, making sure you have time to relish the warmth.   

   This is the North Dakota I have grown to love. For as flat as the ground is here, the western landscape makes up for it with craggy buttes, rolling hills, and sweeping. North Dakota does have it's good side. Just not in April when  12" of  white stuff falls from the sky.