How's your mud season been?

[DickR]

Without much to go by other than the gravel roads in my immediate area, I'm guessing that maybe mud season isn't/hasn't been as bad as it could have been this year. The extent of the mud in one notorious section near me was not as great this year as last, and one other stretch that more typically becomes a problem held up very well this year.

In the way of background, it's been my understanding that "mud season" happens when the frost in the surface ground melts, while the ground below it remains frozen, preventing drainage, leaving the surface a wet, muddy mess. I'm theorizing that this year, with March being relatively cooler, but without the really bitterly cold weather of mid-winter, ground heat below the frost caused the depth of frost to recede significantly before thawing from top down became appreciable, so that the ultimate thawing of the surface wasn't so problematic. I've no idea if this is the case. Perhaps others can comment on how their mud season has been and whether there is anything to my reasoning.