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Ah, the joys of springtime plowing

In Idaho’s warmer climates, where spring weather and the first day of spring are sometimes closely related, farmers are busy plowing their fields to prepare them for seeding.

Many ITD maintenance crews are engaged in another rite of spring, brooming highway shoulders and repairing potholes.

Not so in northern Idaho, where the only plowing taking place is on the highway.

Spring weather and the first day of spring have little in common. Former District 1 Engineer Scott Stokes, now ITD Deputy Director, reminds that spring snowstorms may be more common on the first day of spring than sunshine.

District 1 engineer Damon Allen added graphic testimony to the assertion this week. The included photo shows a trio of ITD snowplows trying to remove “spring” from Interstate 90 near Lookout Pass.

Planting wheat, alfalfa and tomatoes will have to wait.