Dreaming of a white spring...

This is what my world looked like yesterday morning, green and wet with rain pouring down and lightning splitting the sky.

And here's what it looked like this morning.

Here's the baby calf I tagged at 6 a.m.

It's far from unusual for us to get snow in May. In fact, it's very unusual not to get snow in May. According to the High Plains Regional Climate Center, May at Kimball, Nebraska has been snow-free only 12 times since 1893.

So it's a bit puzzling when I hear the local experten hold forth on how terribly, terribly unusual this snow storm has been. Just for fun, here are some images taken during the first 10 days of May in the years 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014. In 2012, which was a nightmare drought year, May was snow free.

The last one was taken a couple of days after the storm. On the day of the storm it looked a lot like the others.

Yesterday was a bit of a bother. It rained like hell all day until late in the afternoon, when the rain turned to snow. Rain is a very good thing. So, also, is snow. When your average annual precipitation is 16 inches and you make your living off of grass production, which requires moisture to grow, you can't afford to turn up your nose at anything which puts water into the soil.

Rain and snow can be inconvenient, however. To prepare for yesterday's storm, I had to move cattle into protected pastures. A very cold, wet job. I also received 26 new cow-calf pairs, delivered by truck. Also a cold, wet job. 

So yesterday was cold and wet and miserable and wonderful. Occasional cold, wet misery is the price I pay to live this life, and it's a price I delight in paying.

Particularly after the fact, when I'm warm and dry and things have gone reasonably well.

A few more pictures of the transition. Let it Snow!*

*...and then quickly warm up and get nice.