As spring attempts to arrive and warm weather gets ever closer, the mud is getting ever deeper. And the cars are getting ever dirtier. All through the land, cries of “don’t touch the truck!” were heard.
Yes, here in North Idaho, we are entering the season of sucking mud. In our neighborhood, there was great joy upon sighting a grader smoothing out the frost heaves and craters in our dirt roads into a smoother, slicker mud bog. Being a grader operator must be inherently discouraging, because the effort will probably last for approximately 14.67 minutes before gigantic ruts reappear in the quagmire. On the other hand, if the ground freezes quickly, we might have a perfectly graded road for a couple of days after all.
At this time of year, you also see people giving their cars a really wide berth as they get in and out. A lot of the North Idaho road surface is actually now on our cars, so you just don’t want to get your clothing too close to any automobile. Parking lots are filled with giganto-pig SUV dirtballs, and you see people being extra careful as they walk by.
If you have a small garage like we do, you have to become a bit of a contortionist in the never-ending effort to keep the mud off your clothes as you try and squeak between the cars to get to the door.
One thing you don’t generally see people doing at this time of year is washing their cars. Okay, maybe that’s an overstatement. I suppose some people actually like washing cars. If so, have I got a project for you! Oh and by the way, my car is actually green.