The Magic Valley Asked to Pray for a Late Winter

Idaho isn’t the only place where people are manufactured tough.  My sister left for work Monday morning when it was 15 below zero.  A woman she works with had 20 below as she left home.  They’re schoolteachers in a tiny district in southwestern New York State, where the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains begin.  Maybe not mountains in a western sense, but it can get mighty cold.  Schools there can close when it’s 25 below, or when the wind chill drops to that point.  Winds were calm on Monday.

We're Not Actually Getting a Deal Weatherwise

Over the weekend, they had daytime highs in the single digits.  I talked Sunday afternoon with my best friend while he was in his dairy barn.  He told me it was better than Saturday, when he could see his breath.  Cows have a body temperature of 101 degrees, and 80 of them can help warm a room.

I’ve often thought that if you don’t know how cold the weather is, it’s better psychologically.  One winter day in high school, I left home without looking at the thermometer.  I walked about four blocks in a letterman jacket over a t-shirt, with no hat or gloves.  I alternated my books by changing hands and warming a free hand in a pocket.  I was at school when I was told it was 18 below zero.

Petition Almighty God for Moisture

Likewise, I made sure I bragged about how unseasonably warm it was here over the weekend, but what goes around comes around.  The Twin Falls County Commission is asking that you pray for snow because we could be looking at a serious drought in spring and summer.