Is Winter Finished?

misty morning Meeks Bay

lake view

Early winter December

     Just when you thought it was OK to plant your favorites flowers, more snow.  Well, maybe it was supposed to be the "final" winter snow, but no, it won't be.  Another gasp of winter is forecast for a long weekend or about 5 days, starting Friday night.  Now this snow won't be disruptive excepting for the locals who switched out their winter, studded tires for summer tires.  It's a game we play in Tahoma:  we consult Poor Richards Almanac; then the Farmers Almanac, then some tea leaves, then a crystal ball seeking answers:  will this be the final snow fall of 2019-2020?  Alas, we have maybe a 50-50 chance of a good answer.
     So, since we are all on lockdown anyway, it doesn't really matter:  we aren't moving anywhere anytime soon.  Perhaps there will be some good news soon?  Perhaps not.  Some experts being consulted offer an opinion that the peak of the pandemic in California could be arriving in mid-April, or 2 weeks from now.  Meanwhile, we are staring at the 4 walls of our abodes.  Take a walk; use those snow shoes you got for Christmas; maybe the cross country skiis you got last Christmas?  It's not easy.  It's a new lifestyle we are adjusting to these days.  Our world, everybody's world has been upended like never before.  The economy is definitely in free fall; Congress has passed the largest relief package in history.  Will it work?  Who knows?  Did the bailouts of 2009 work out?  It took awhile.  This time?  Since it's not a banking failure; it's not a basic structural economic issue;  then the moves by Congress are breaking new, uncharted territory.  Where do we go from here?  When is the next tranche of federal funds going to follow?   What will the Federal reserve bank do next?
Mr. Jerome Powell:  what can you do, given the problem lurks among companies that are dependent upon consumers being able to spend when and where they want to spend.  Now, they can't leave home.   Sure, online shopping is in vogue, but many are not adept at the practice, especially those without a computer connection.
      So much for the weather report.  Keep your eye on the snow reports.