Just so you all understand my situation, let me be up front with you. I love winter.

This isn’t much of a secret. I’ve said it often so I won’t go through all of it again.

That being said, this winter is testing every ounce of patience I have — and that’s not a lot.

Of course it’s not winter anymore, it’s spring which makes it a whole heck of a lot worse because I’m not a big fan of the wild mood swing that is spring.

You deal with what we are dealing with now. Up and down temperature swings, giving us days that tease warmer days only to follow it up with frigid days.

It rains, snows often times in the same day and the winds blow about 500 mph every day. EVERY DAY.

The other side of this comes after about two weeks — which seems like about five minutes — of temperate weather before the sweltering two days that lays the entire moisture of earth on Minnesota which brings up my other gripe which is my loathing for hot and humid, but that’s a different column.

I’ve lived in Minnesota most of my life save for some time in South Dakota from college through my first job. I’m used to these mood swings, but these aren’t mood swings anymore. These are temper tantrums.

You know those days you are in a long line in like a Target and a Walmart. I’ve used this analogy in another way before so let me lay it out again.

The person in front of you is arguing over the 25 cents they didn’t get off through a coupon they offered. The 25 cents of course will tip the balance of the world if not accepted.

Behind you is somebody with a small child who clearly doesn’t want to be there — or anywhere for that matter and lets everybody in the store know you are there.

That’s winter and summer converging on spring. You just sit back and try to content yourself you’re going to be wet and wind-blown for all of April.

But this is a new low. This is the second major snow dump since spring and even I’m getting tired of it.

Mostly I can say it’s because I haven’t been able to really get out and enjoy it. No long walks through the nature center, no pictures, no nothing really.

This storm that I’m watching get underway while I write this from the comfy, comfy couch will be a doozy. Six to 10 inches they are saying at the point of writing this. Outside big flakes of snow are falling with very little wind at this point.

Across the street there is no activity at the school as school was called off the night before in anticipation of the storm.

Unfortunately, I have to go to work in a little bit as it’s a very busy week, filled with a whole host of this or that I have to get done.

And maybe that’s the rub. At some point on a very busy Tuesday I’ll have to get the snow blower out again which I don’t want to do. It might even end up being two times by the time this is all said and done.

I think perhaps I can’t really enjoy a true snow day. Storms rarely fall on my days off and they never impact my day so much that I can stay home, make a couple cups of coffee an sit around in shorts and a T-shirt all day.

Rather, I have to go outside, trudge around for a couple shots, snow blow my driveway and then sit in the office.

I want a snow day. Is it too much to ask?

I suppose I should try looking at the bright side. The snow, which I love in in December and January will disappear fairly quickly, just in time probably for the next batch of snow which, if the weather is to be believed, could be falling as this page is hitting mailboxes on Saturday.

Man, it’s hard to be positive.

At the end of the day, this is all part of living in this state. Snow will fall in April just as surely as the entire user base of Facebook will post cellphone pictures of snow in their backyard while complaining they want spring.

I shouldn’t be so harsh and just accept this inevitability and … ooo, just a second. The front yard is completely covered. I need to get my cellphone.