This flock of four robins (there were actually six robins but two were camera shy) was grounded due to snowy conditions in Blue Earth earlier in April. They appeared to be none too pleased.

No matter where I go, no matter who I am visiting with, one topic dominates the conversation.

The weather. In particular, the crummy, awful weather.

Yes, I have to agree, it has been pretty cold, windy, rainy, windy, snowy, windy, freezing cold, and yes, windy.

You expect this in January and February, and maybe even March, but this went on most of the month of April, and now it is May and there seems to be not much change coming.

While helping run our Faribault County Register garage sale last weekend, the weather was a hot topic. And, I use the word “hot” with my voice dripping with irony and air quotes around the word hot.

It was cold, windy and rainy. And yet, shockingly, a whole lot of people found our little hidden away in the back of the parking lot gem of a garage sale.

Lots and lots of people braved the cold, wind and rain and turned out to find garage sale treasures at our sale and all around Blue Earth.

It wound up to be a pretty good sale. Which was absolutely amazing.

But I digress.

Everyone who stopped in talked about the weather and all agreed they were sick and tired of it and wondered when we would ever have a nice spring day.

My answer was a snarky, “Sometime in June.”

One person said to me, “Chuck, you are the editor. Why don’t you write about this awful (they didn’t say awful, they used a word I really shouldn’t use in the newspaper) weather and demand that we get some nicer warm, sunny, nice weather instead?”

I responded that I really didn’t think that was the way things work. I mean, I could demand better roads, lower taxes and cheaper prices on beer, but I am pretty sure whoever they thought was in charge of the weather (Mother Nature, God, the TV weather person) probably does not read my column in the Faribault County Register.

But I don’t know that for sure. Maybe they read it online.

Anyway, I agreed it could be worth a try. But, I decided to try and be nice and not so demanding. So here goes.

“Puh-leeze can we have some nice weather? Yes, we need some rain, but can you please also give us some days with sunshine, no wind and maybe 70 degrees? Pretty, pretty please with chocolate sauce on it?”

There, if that does not do it, nothing will.

Have you noticed everyone seems a little more cranky than normal? And tired. I believe it is due to the weather.

Farmers and gardeners are getting itchy to go dig in the dirt and plant something. Normally they get started by Easter, but Easter has come and gone. When May Day arrives, they want to be going great guns.

All the high school athletes are tired of battling the weather more than they battle the other teams. They have had more practices and competitions canceled or postponed than what they’ve played.

It’s hard to play golf when it is 43 degrees and there is a strong wind. Or baseball, or softball, or track. And the tennis team has to worry about freezing when they should be working up a sweat.

Those of us who enjoy camping, golfing, hiking, biking, fishing, walking and even just being outside doing yard work, are ready to go. But, we want to do it in nice weather, not wearing our winter underwear and parkas and mittens, for crying out loud.

Oops, I got a little bit cranky there, didn’t I – forgive me.

But, gosh darn it, I feel like we got cheated out of one month of being outside. April has come and gone and now it is May. It’s Minnesota, we don’t have that many nice days to begin with.

There, I did it. I broke my rule about writing my column about the weather. But, this kind of endless, despicable weather calls for desperate measures.

So, if it suddenly gets really nice outside later this week, you can all thank me. If not, well, at least I gave it a pretty good try.