How about this cold?

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for spring. Our winters always start to wear out their welcome for me around mid February, all of March, all of April, and even some May. Thanksgiving and Christmas are not the same without snow, but by this time of the year, I'm ready to the messiness of spring.

I copied these pictures from countrscribe's blog. At first I thought they were pictures of waves. Nope. Snow drifts.





Now I truly see how Beret, Per Hansa's wife, from Giants in the Earth can go insane from the plains. I think the very first part of the book refers to oceans of snow. I have a feeling she was looking at the very same thing that was captured in the photos above. Poor lady.

And, apparently, it happened often to pioneer wives. At one of our MNHS summer institutes Dyrud was telling us about some research he did concerning the area and the Norwegian settlers - just like Per Hansa and Beret. Apparently, records show how many women had nervous breakdowns or serious bouts with depression (not that they used those terms back then though) and had to be sent to institutions. This happened - in all instances - to coincide with the deep, dark months of winter. Their husbands could venture out to tend the livestock and cut firewood. However, the wives were confined to the house (or shack) nearly all hours of the day. This - no doubt - in addition to the flat prairie and terribly harsh winter months - contributed to their breakdowns.

Once the women were institutionalized - and taken away from the prairie - they began to improve. Their improvement has helped by the coming of spring and summer. Unfortunately, the women were deemed cured by late August or September. Just in time to return home for a month or two before winter hit and the cycle repeated itself all over again.

The longer this sub,sub zero weather lingers, the more I see Casey's rationale behind wanting to go to college in Florida.

I keep telling myself global warming will even things up for us - the coasts will flood and the weather will - well, maybe - warm. But we'll see. As I think about starting my car this morning, I am doubting all of this Inconvenient Truth stuff!