Weather Or Not

Here in Montana.. drive 5 miles or wait 5 minutes and the weather’s guranteed to change. 60 degrees on Thanksgiving and 20 degrees and 5 inches of snow when you wake up on Memorial Day . This time of year especially.. you can get plum weather weary. Spring teases you for a few days with balmy temps and sunny skies and you think at last… spring is finally here. Then you wake up to howling winds and snow covered horses forcing a collective “ugh”

But alas, weather happens.

That fact is lost on some people - especially local weather forecasters.

Watching a local weather forecast is much like reading the Sierra Club’s treatise on the environment. You know, that the earth will collapse in three years because of people who refuse to put a brick in their toilet tank.

The local weathergeek takes great pride in making the storm on their channel sound bigger, nastier and more destructive than the storm on any other channel. And, by God, they’re going to stay in the newsroom weather center all night to prove it.

Although local weathergoobs’ penchant for turning a dust devil into a Class 4 twister could be attributed to Nielsen ratings, I’ve come to the conclusion the reason is much more sinister than that.

Either:

1) Said weathergeek is as paranoid as a small dog and any drop in the barometric pressure pushes him into a  world where fluffy,cotton puff  clouds are controlled by Satan.

“The humidity is 85 percent. Expect a few clouds today. Wind will be out of the northwest at 10 mph and we’ll have periods of light rain,” weathergeek says . Or, 2) None of these weather guys know what they’re talking about.

This is evident in the fact that although their newsroom weather centers have more computing power than the Starship Enterprise, none of the local forecasts agree, but none are ever correct.   Typical prognostications include:
Ohhh, I’m getting great vibes. Temperatures should be warmer this Summer than they will be in the Winter.

Now this is interesting. For sure. There will be a tendency certainly for temperatures to be cooler at night than they will be during the day.

Instead of relying on a local weather forecast, maybe you should just tell yourself, “Hmmm, it’s summer. Maybe I should wear shorts.”

Going with the premise that weathergeeks couldn’t tell you the current weather conditions by walking outside and looking up, the following are points teachers obviously don’t cover in meterology 101:

• Winter is cold. Winter happens the same time each year. People already know they’re supposed to wear a hat when it’s cold - you don’t have to take up valuable air time reminding them.
• July is hot. Heck, it’s summer. It’s hot in the summer, every summer. Anywhere it’s summer, it’s going to be hot. That’s not something to panic over.
• As with cold in winter, if it’s 115 degrees, people already know it’s probably not a good idea to put on a parka and tar a roof. If they’re stupid enough to do this, let them.
• It rains in the spring.
• It rains in the fall.
• Sometimes it rains in the summer, and sometimes it rains in the winter. It’s just freakin’ rain. If you find yourself having chest pains related to anxiety because it’s going to rain, have a Chardonnay a nap..

And true to Jeff Foxworthy , you might (or in this case know) your’re from Montana when:

• you often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day and back again.
• You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
• Your 4th of July BBQ is moved inside due to the blizzard

Yeah, weather happens. And so did these oatmeal raisin cookies as we head out for another ride… weather or not.

Happy campers were we to look forward to these apres. My quest for the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie continues.. Yet another adaption from allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
* 1 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove from sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Trot on friends, trot on.