An ill-tempered springtime

Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo are strung in a line along the "Front Range" of Colorado, abutting the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and connected by Interstate 25. Colorado enjoys some of the greatest numbers of sunny days of anywhere in the United States, but the weather patterns can change dramatically over the course of a few days.

For example, here between Boulder and Denver, the temperature rose to 70 degrees today, and once morning clouds had burnt off we were graced with an afternoon sunshine. But the National Weather Service has also issued a Winter Storm Watch, because Saturday night's forecast calls for four to eight inches of snow, with more on Sunday and possible storm totals of a foot of snow.

They predict that the temperature will be around 60 again by Tuesday or Wednesday. I suppose that's the good news. It's also good news whenever we get more moisture, but at this time of year I would prefer rain. It takes up a lot less space and doesn't require such chilly temperatures.

I moved here in the middle of May, 2002. On an eighty-degree day, my wife, a friend, and I hauled furniture from our rented Budget truck up the stairs to this apartment. A few days later, I awoke to discover two inches of snow on the ground. The apartment complex's automatic lawn sprinkler system was running according to its schedule, and its black sprinkler heads peeked out over the snow, dutifully watering it.