One thing about this area: we’ll probably never have to worry about wildfires engulfing our homes and leveling our communities. Nope, odds are we’ll never have to go through what the people in California are going through (and seem to go through every few years).

We don’t have devastating floods, tornados, or hurricanes, either. And there aren’t any real earthquakes to speak of. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone’s house ever went down the side of a hill in a mudslide – but that, also, never seems to happen around here.

Sure, we get some snow. But for all the harm it does, think about the benefits: sledding, snowmobiling, skiing, snowballs, snowmen, snowforts and snowangels (not to mention something pretty to look at on Christmas). Yeah, that’s not much. But it’s better than the recreational opportunities you’ll find in a firestorm.

People complain about the rain. But yet again, our grass is green, the crops grow and, importantly, neither of those readily burn. It seems like we have a pretty clean and abundant water supply, too. Especially compared to some places I’ve been, where the stuff from the tap looks and tastes like its source could be an old tire. I’m not really sure how much our rain has anything to do with our drinking water, but I bet it’s pretty important.