The Smell Of Snow

This morning, I spent a few minutes talking to one of the school crossing guards. He commented on the blank stares he gets from kids when he makes a comment like, "It feels like snow." I suggested that there's been a change in the perception of weather in the last generation or so. The advent of better satellite data and computer modeling combined with better access to that data as a result of the internet and TV and radio sources has almost eliminated the need for people to be able to read the weather from the conditions around them.

This morning, there was a biting chill to the weather. The air was moist and moving a bit. I commented about how as kids, we'd say things like, "It smells like snow." There was something that our noses could detect about when conditions were ripe for snow. I think technology has eliminated the need for people to pay attention to their environment in most cases. Still, whether you farm, or exercise outdoors, or do other outdoor activities, the understanding of what's happening around you can be very helpful and it seems like our kids have no idea that such a thing is possible. I think it's a shame.