Winter (again), and in a pretty big way. As in shovel, shovel, shovel, brrrr…
It seems pretty clear at this point we’ll have snow for Christmas.
According to my weather app, we’ve had over seven inches of it so far, and we’re only halfway through December.
I thought I saw a source that said that’s three inches above average for mid-December, but another says it’s on the average. The internet is post-trust these days, so who knows.
The Minnesota DNR reports ten inches accumulated going into the past weekend, but we lost an inch due to above-zero temps yesterday.
I just know I’ve shoveled a shitload of snow. I’ve been out at least five times already. I’ll have strong shoulders by the end of the season! (I’ve already mildly sprained my forearm muscles.)
Believe it or not, though, I do it for fun and for getting outside. I try to remember to take walks but often get so involved in projects that I blow it off or just forget.
And now, at least until winter settles in and the sidewalks all get cleared, walking is a challenge, so I have an excuse. But I’m getting old enough that I really do need to make a point of getting that exercise. I can feel myself getting creaky.
We had a cold snap this past weekend. Lots of arctic air. Low temp of -11 (Fahrenheit!) Sunday. But then a warming Monday to those above freezing temps yesterday.
It looks like the rest of the month will be on the chilly side, though. Maybe a little warming just after Christmas and again around New Year’s. Those predictions are far enough ahead to not be taken very seriously, though. Predictions of just a few days are usually at least a little iffy.
I made a run to my local liquor big box store to stock up for a party (and just weekends). I have mixed feelings about the liquor warehouse. No ordinary liquor store can match their variety (which you can see is important to me), but these giant enterprises are anathema to local businesses.
I have the same problem with Amazon. Hard to beat what they offer, but damn, at this point they almost seem the enemy of us. Maybe in the future drones will deliver exactly the goods we want directly from makers and distributors. Though that seems a big box operation of its own.
We’re just doomed because there are so many of us. Many of our social issues can ultimately be traced back to the sheer size of society. As a species, we’ve been a bit too materially successful.
Anyway.
I’ll leave you with this. At the loved/hated big box liquor warehouse, it had just started to snow, and I was an early customer. But obviously not the earliest:
Patterns of wheeled vehicles in the snow. And footprints.
The traffic of humanity.
§ §
Stay shoveling, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.
∇
Logos con carne 
December 17th, 2025 at 12:25 pm
My outdoor thermometer says it’s 35° out, so we’re having another above-freezing day that’ll melt more snow. Doesn’t look like that will last. Another cold snap this weekend.
December 17th, 2025 at 12:27 pm
Like the brownies in “Willow” — BEER!
Minnesota seems to be just to the inside of the Artic Dip. Maybe a bit more than a little. We here in the PNW have been getting nothing but warm wet weather. Snow? What’s that?
December 17th, 2025 at 12:31 pm
Yeah, our weather tends to depend on which way the jet stream leans. One way brings warm air up the Mississippi river valley; the other way brings cold air down from the arctic. Makes for variety. Don’t like the weather? Just wait, another one will be along soon.
December 17th, 2025 at 3:04 pm
Love the update! Agree. And yes, be careful shoveling- it’s one of the most strenuous exercises. 🍻
December 17th, 2025 at 5:09 pm
Heh, yeah, I always wonder if this will be the time they find me face down in the snow the next day. But I keep aware of my heart rate, and my respiration, oxygen levels, and pulse rate are pretty good.
December 18th, 2025 at 8:45 am
I’m glad I don’t have to deal with snow here on a regular basis, although we did get several inches in an unusual event last year. It’ll be interesting to see what happens this winter.
On Amazon, I think I mentioned I’d love to see them get more meaningful competition. Until then, I don’t have the energy to try to avoid them, but I’ve always been pretty mercenary in my shopping. For me, they live or die depending on how relatively affordable, useful, and convenient they keep themselves.
December 18th, 2025 at 10:34 am
I confess that we hardy Minnesnowtans get a small bit of amusement from stories about towns down south — usually in Texas — that become paralyzed because they got an inch of snow and have no snow removal infrastructure. For us in winter, that’s just a Tuesday. 😁
We’re having another above-freezing day (temp is 35 right now), and the snow level is down considerably from last week. If this keeps up, Christmas may not be so white.
I know what you mean about being mercenary in shopping. Hence the big box liquor warehouse. Or Amazon Video and Music (even to paying the extra fee for commercial-free video). Very hard to tear myself away from them. I console myself slightly with the realization that I’m now siding with Blue Origin over SpaceX. The latter seems too bogged down by Musk’s ego and futuristic visions.
December 18th, 2025 at 11:56 am
We’re definitely in the camp that whenever we get snow, even if it’s just a thin layer that melts after a few hours, we are shut down. In that several inches event, we were shut down for 2-3 days. As you noted, we don’t have the equipment, and most of us don’t know how to drive on frozen roads, particularly since the ones here aren’t salted in the winter.
We had a cold snap here for a few days, with the temperature at night getting down to 25F or so. But right now it’s 78F. (I need to turn on the AC.) But the low tonight is supposed to be 43F.
I’m generally indifferent toward most billionaires as people, although if I had my preference, they’d be taxed much higher. That much money concentrated in one person’s control is dangerous. But Musk is in his own class of asshole, and the prime example of the problem.
December 19th, 2025 at 12:29 am
Having the experience driving on snow is a big part of it. Definitely a skillset one has to learn. It’s easier with all the front-wheel drive cars but rear-wheel drive required that counterintuitive steering in the opposite direction thing that can be hard to remember when you’re sliding out of control. (From a physics point of view, it’s interesting how, if you do lose traction, you’re suddenly nearly frictionless. Kind of an eerie feeling.)
Meh, 43. Not even below freezing! 😁 (It’s +3 here at the moment.)