From The Chief Editor's Desk...

As I sit here on Christmas Eve morning, writing this, we're in the midst of some of the warmest December weather I can remember in many years. We have gotten about one to two inches of snow, but that was well over a month ago, and it is LONG gone. That snowfall only lasted a day or so, until warming temperatures turned it back into the liquid form of water. We are currently getting some rain, after three days of bleak, gray sky and incessant misting or drizzle.

In the forum, sam2fish (who lives, IIRC, in/near Saskatchewan, Canada) has commented that there is no snow in his location … which is quite odd for being that far north. Kc1di has also commented that there is little to no snow for his location in Maine.

As for my area (near Kansas City), I have no doubts that we'll get our fair share of the frozen wintery white stuff. We always seem to. At least I hope so. The kids have not one, but two, new sleds that they are eager to test/try out. And we have the perfect sledding hill in the park very near our house, well suited for a seven and 10 year old.

In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion that come January, February and March, we're going to see significant amounts of wintery weather. That's usually what happens when Winter arrives like a lamb … and I'm not talking about the fluffy white fleece of the lamb's woolen coat. I'm just hoping that it isn't ice, with a mound of snow piled on top, as happens around my parts so frequently. It seems we can rarely get snow without the ice underneath around here. And then the snow plows scrape away the snow and leave the icy layer exposed, making things even more treacherous and hazardous. At least I can get a little traction in the snow and slush, as opposed to the ice layer, upon which I have zero traction in my truck. Oh well … hope springs eternal, I guess.

Just as with the Bing Crosby song "White Christmas," I suspect that for many who usually have snow on the ground for Christmas, the "White Christmas" will remain just a dream this year. We are supposed to possibly get some insignificant snowfall on Christmas Day night, going into the day after Christmas. Just yesterday (Christmas Eve eve), we were celebrating Christmas with my father-in-law and stepmother-in-law on their farm in central Missouri, and we were sitting around on the deck in shirt sleeves with unseasonably warm 58°F (14.4°C) temperatures. That's about 20°F warmer than the temperatures we usually have around this time of year.

We only receive a "White Christmas" around the Kansas City area around 20% of the time. Our last one was in 2017, when we had four inches (~10cm) of the frozen, flaky, white stuff on the ground. We're overdue. The Old Farmer's Almanac (and to not be confused with the Farmer's Almanac) had even "predicted" a White Christmas for us this year. Oh well. Despite both periodicals boasting an "80% accuracy" with their forecasts, research shows that they are correct only about 50% of the time. Their forecasts, it seems, aren't much more accurate than a coin flip, I guess.

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This month's cover image is from Klaus Hausmann, from Pixabay. Let's hope your New Year celebration left you safe and ready to face the new year without too much drama.

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Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity, continued good health … and Happy New Year!