And if you're wondering what the weather's like (again)

"Dear Stu," you say, "why has it been so very long since you left us a blog post?"


Ah, kind reader, it's true. It has been a very long time since I've left a literary meandering here for your perusal. And there's a very simple reason for it - blogging doesn't pay very well.


Not that I am a mercenary blogger - no, no, dear reader. Yours truly blogs out of a desire to spread knowledge and enjoyment among his fellow men.


But let's face it - when jobs are short one must put the proverbial nose to the grindstone and ensure he or she is fulfilling the old contract to the best of his or her ability.


But good news, dear reader, all this time spent chained to a lesson plan has only heightened my desire to add to the neglected blog.


You see, dear readers, the winter has been one of note. Largely because it's a winter that is. And lord knows we haven't had many of those lately.


But this winter has had it all - horrific wind chill, monumental drifts of snow, periodic blizzard warnings. It makes a person feel all old-fashioned and down-home-y.


Which doesn't mean, of course, that the season hasn't held any peculiarities.


For reasons unknown to the author, this winter's wind has chosen to blow primarily from the south and east.


Which is problematic for the following reasons:


a) Back, waaaayyyy back, when my very decrepit house was built, the builders, in their wisdom, put all the windows on the south side (said windows being, apparently, very effective heat drains);


b) Prevailing north-west winds mean that shelter belts, the saving grace of the prairies, were built on that side of the yard (merely serving as something to beat you against when opposing winds occur); and


c) As a child of the prairies, a windy region, I grew with a slight lean to the north and west (a useless adaptation when winds choose to blow from either south or east).


But redemption, dear reader, remains.


Long experience teaches that hard winters can lead to sweeter springs.


Except, of course, when they don't.


For today, I think, I'll take the optimist's option.