Perhaps a bit sadistic in my thought process, but I am somewhat glad that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning.  Okay, so he only has a 39% positive prediction rate, and the odds are more in favor of spring than of another six weeks of winter. BUT, I feel like we are getting royally screwed out of a normal Midwest winter this year.

The 2017 Farmer’s Almanac, so far, has been such a tease…

Forecast for November:  Alternating rain and dumps of snow, wet and squishy throughout the month.  The words “blizzard” and “accumulate” were used forebodingly.  What did we get?  A teeny dusting that could have been easily mistaken for a simple frost.  Pathetic.

Forecast for December: Snow, then rain, then snow, snow, and more snow.  This was going to be IT!  Snowsuits purchased for the kids, pantry stocked, propane tank filled to the brim.  What did we get?  Nada.  Zilch.  If I remember correctly, we didn’t even get a flurry the whole month of December.  It rained plenty, and the temps dropped numerous times throughout the month.  But the dance between the two was so horribly choreographed and never amounted to anything worth getting excited about.

Forecast for January: Rain showers and warmer weather to start, then flurries turning into hours of snow showers finishing up the month.  What did we get?  It was warmer and rainy early, as predicted, albeit no snow.  Although not predicted, we did get an official warning around mid-month: the biggest ice storm in 10 years was on it’s way!  Oh baby, this was a prepper’s wet dream!  Generator bought, pantry extra stocked, candles placed strategically throughout the house in the event of loss of power.  I haven’t been that disappointed since my husband drove home that clunker project car and parked it in my spot in the garage.  It iced a teeny bit on Friday, closing schools and work campuses, but not enough to lose power. Saturday it was already melted and warm enough for me to take a run down the street.  Pitiful.

And here were are at the beginning of February, the climax of my story, where Phil sees his shadow.  Curiously enough, the Farmer’s Almanac did predict the little bastard to hightail it back into his lair.  The rest of the month forecasts bright skies, but tons of snow “good for the sledder”.  Bring it Mother Nature.  You owe us.