I love the Midwest!
Do you live in tornado alley?
I am always fascinated by what aspects of the natural landscape attract settlers. I grew up on LI where, like LA, we are prepared for the occasional hurricane but could never understand why anyone would intentionally choose to live in say, San Francisco, subjecting themselves to earthquakes. Then there are those who live in wildfire zones. Again, not an area I would choose.
Here in the middle of NYS, we are spared the hurricanes and over the past century have only experienced one small and quite rare tornado. We have the 4 Seasons and all the beauty that accompanies them. Right now, the perfume of blossoming lilacs fills the air and the Spring lawns are verdant and emerald green. By August, the lawns will have turned brown from the heat (Albany is in a valley) but they all turn green again with the Autumn rains. In October we begin to gather apples (some of the best in this nation come from this area) and watch the trees transform into gold, magenta, purple, rust as the cool nights slow down the flow of sap. Winter brims cool and brisk but not untolerable. January is perhaps our coldest month with nightime temps dipping below zero but this is short lived. By March, the daffodils, tulips and other bulbs are pushing their royally colored heads through the hard earth. And the cycle continues.
Come and visit us sometime!