Minnesota Prairie Roots

SO… THAT MAJOR WINTER STORM predicted for this past Friday into Saturday transitioned into a blizzard here in southern Minnesota. Not that I witnessed the heavy snowfall of an inch or more per hour and the accompanying strong winds. I didn’t. I was sleeping. Snow didn’t begin here in Faribault until around 10 pm Friday and stopped before I awoke.

Saturday morning we arose to a winter wonderland. Truly, it was that beautiful with the landscape draped in a pristine white blanket. The landscape this late in the season is not pretty with dirt deposited atop snow remnants. New snow refreshes, covers the snirt.

As weary as I feel about this relentless winter season, now our third snowiest ever, I appreciated the beauty of Saturday’s snowfall. The trees, especially, were lovely with snow outlining bare branches of deciduous trees and bending boughs on coniferous trees.

White contrasting against a bold blue sky is particularly stunning.

However, snow piling on utility lines, roofs, sidewalks and driveways caused problems. Here in Faribault, a house fire started when a snow-weighted electrical line broke lose, falling against aluminum siding, igniting a blaze. Thankfully the occupants were up, smelled the fire and escaped before firemen arrived.

In Browerville, the roof of the school gym collapsed under the weight of the heavy, wet snow. Such roof collapses occur occasionally, including in mid-March at a shopping mall in the port city of Duluth. Most memorable, perhaps, is the collapse of the roof on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (then Minnesota’s professional sports stadium) in December 2010.

For the average Minnesotan, though, the latest winter storm meant firing up the snowblower and pulling out the shovels to clear snow. That we’re all tired of this endless chore is evident in how some sidewalks went uncleared in Faribault, how even city crews did not clear all walkways like they usually do. I expect expenditures for snow removal have stretched or exceeded city budgets. Plus, this time of year, the sun, if accompanied by warm temps (“warm” being 40 degrees or above), result in Mother Nature removing snow via melting.

Faribo Frosty, Faribault’s iconic landmark snowman crafted by the Hoisington family each winter, is beginning to show the effects of warmer weather. He’s slimming down. On a drive-by Sunday afternoon, I noticed his weight loss and his pipe fallen from his mouth.

But it was the lack of a smile on Frosty’s face that was most noticeable. He’s frowning now. I suppose if I was a snowman and recognized my days were numbered, I might feel the same. I can’t/won’t apologize to Frosty, though, for not sympathizing with his plight. I just want winter gone. Frosty will be back again some day. Just like winter will be back mid-week, when more snow is predicted for parts of Minnesota. Not here. I hope.

© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling