Blizzards and the Banana Belt
May 18, 2008: Brian has moved over to Rapid -- he arrived sick as a dog with the flu and a carload of stuff. So I put him to bed and fed him his friend Rick's special-recipe herb tea for a week and unpacked the car. Now he's better, but look at this!
Now, I'd told him all about Rapid City before he came here -- billed it as the Banana Belt of the upper Midwest. And it is -- but in context. It may be ten below zero here, but that will be the warmest place in four states!
Big May Snow Drift in the Back Yard
Two days ago we had a blizzard -- a nasty late spring one with tons of heavy snow. We couldn't get out of the house or down the street or even consider navigating my steep driveway with the five-foot drift across it. By the way, never buy a house in South Dakota without seeing the winter wind snow patterns. You've got to know where the drifts will be!
Thank goodness for ambitious, energetic little neighbor boys! They shoveled and shoveled and shoveled. And after three days we can get out.
Saint Francis Up to His Waist in Banana Belt May Weather
Brian is very skeptical about this whole banana belt thing! I think he's a shaman who brought the rains (and snow) back to South Dakota. This could be the beginning of the end of a vicious ten-year drought.
Look at it this way, I guess -- a profusion of spring flowers. At least the ones that aren't crushed and frozen under this Banana Belt snow.
Helpful Neighbor Boy Digging In Some 18th of May Banana Belt Sludge
Bewildered Neighbor Cat Finds a Small Dry Spot
Louise with photos by Brian. Text and photos copyright Goinmobyle, LLC, 2008.