Prairie Blizzard
“Beware the Ides of March” is a saying often used as I was growing up out on the rural prairies. In fact “beware the Nones of March” is actually more accurate as it refers to the early days of the month whereas the Ides are more the middle of the month and the Kalends end of the month. That concludes your Roman history lesson.
Notwithstanding, our own generations of experiences on the prairies has proved March to be a month of wild weather extremes. Thereby making it very dangerous for “man and beast” and must be treated with extreme caution.
Oh yes, and the expression “in like a lion out like a lamb” was also a favorite to be bandied about in March weather discussions. Whereby the saying suggested if March started with bad weather it would end with good weather. Perhaps just wishful thinking.
Nevertheless I am pleased we are not in a war zone , or buried under thirteen feet of snow, or contending with million acre wildfires as some folks are.
The world watched in horror at the tragedy and devastation of the 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Phuket, Banda Aceh in Sumatra, Thailand, Siri Lanka and Indonesia killing 230,000 people.
More recently the world again was transfixed as it watched the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami kill 20,000 men, women and children.
Even so no one was prepared for the under-sea fault rupture with resulting Earthquake and the Mega Tsunami which destroyed the coastal areas of Southern British Columbia, Canada and the North Western coastal area of the USA, the area called Cascadia.
You can read all about it for free on the March 16th and 17th giveaway. Enjoy!
In a time not so far in the future, perhaps a generation or two, humanity will look back on the struggles of 2024, smile and shake their heads dismissing how archaic things were back in “that old hopefully buried period of history”. The issues which challenge us now are resolved and forgotten in the future.
Hud and P-man are a sniper team operating out of firebase Foxtrot. They are good, maybe too good at their skill set, as their ability to perform and survive brings increasingly difficult and dangerous missions. A powerful evil other than Charlie is stalking Hud and P-man. Can Hud’s spiritual link to his beloved Daria tip the balance to level the playing field?
One of the unbroken rules of prairie winter storms is you do not go outside unless absolutely necessary, as you are at the mercy of the storm. Therefore unless sickness or death is eminent you do not leave the safety of the home.
The dogs are full of energy, until such time as I open the back door and they flounder into two feet of snow and zero visibility. About three leaps in the snow and they are back in the house content for another delicious nap.
And I am ready for some quality library time.
Best
Martin