stoWhen I was a little girl and finally figured out that it was just as much fun to give gifts as it was to receive them, I wanted to give wonderful things to everyone I knew and loved. Most people were fairly easy. I could make them something or find something perfect at the Dime Store. (Yea, yea…this was before inflation drove them up to dollar stores) The one person I could never find a gift for was my dad. He would always tell us that there was nothing he really needed. As far as I could tell, he was right, he had everything he wanted. (at least within my price range!) One year, I finally managed to figure out what I thought was the perfect gift for him. It was the Farmer’s Almanac.
I knew that he had grown up on a farm, and that he enjoyed gardening and, most importantly, it was in my price range. I always happily gave Dad the newest copy of it each year for Christmas or for his birthday which came a week later.
At some point, I stopped getting it for him. I had realized that, while he always thanked me and seemed to treasure it, I never actually saw him reading it. Or even opening it up! Besides that, he had left the family farm and joined the Navy just as soon as he was old enough. As the years passed, I’ve seen the Almanac for sale in stores, but never really gave much thought to it.
This year though, I’ve been hearing a lot about the Farmer’s Almanac. According to several people that actually read the Almanac, it has accurately predicted all of our recent storms. The first unexpected wind/snow storm in November, the severe windstorm in December, snow storm in January and now, yet another snow storm here at the end of February. I’m going to say it one more time…this is Seattle, it’s only supposed to rain!!!
Despite the fact that I can barely keep a houseplant alive, let alone an entire farm, I think I’m going to have to get myself an Almanac. At least I’ll know what to expect…
I’ll try to post snowy pictures tomorrow. Despite the fact that it was all supposed to melt away, I’ve got about four inches of the stuff on my deck. There’s no way I’m going anywhere tomorrow. I hope my kids will be happy with bread crusts for dinner…
Edit to add: No school today!!!