Early Spring Awakening

The bees have been buzzing around the crocuses.

And I reckon the daffodils will be out within a week.

Michigan has been breaking heat records, some of which have stood for 90 years.

And we've had a few tornados, which normally don't arrive until July.

Amazing.

Something tells me it's going to be a strange summer.

Read more...

Tantalizing Hints of Spring

Wow. Nearly a week since my last post, which means we're one week into March, which means March is passing by. This is a good thing. It's looked and felt like March for far too long.

Today, believe it or not, we reached 50 degrees. I took advantage of this sunny, warm, windy day to clean the windows, inside and out, of the sunroom, which has been my office for a week or so. I also dragged out the hose and cleaned the screens. I dusted shelves and cleaned woodwork and vacuumed up cobwebs. I organized my books, my planting gear and seeds, and my art supplies. I even planted out my red onion sets that I had been storing since fall. I put them in the one place where the ground had thawed enough (and congratulated myself anew on my big raised bed project from last year, which made that thawed ground possible).

Tomorrow it is supposed to get up to SIXTY-ONE DEGREES, though it will be quite windy. I'm thinking that the boy will want to take his bike out and play in the sandbox. So that's we'll plan on doing. In fact, with the exception of a cold Friday, the 10-day forecast is shaping up to be pretty balmy. Not so good for maple syrup producers (which stinks) but great for winter-weary Midwesterners.

So don't forget your sunglasses this week. Those pasty arms and legs are bound to be popping out of sleeves and shorts and you don't want your eyesight damaged by the glare.

Read more...

What? It's STILL February?

How is that fair?

Read more...

Weather - A Michigan Pastime

I'll come right out and say it: weather is not solely a Michigan phenomenon. However, complaining about the weather is an official Michigan sport (there are no winners). I think I've mentioned this before. No one is ever happy with the weather here.

When I was visiting my mother this past weekend we brought my son out to an orchard for cider and doughtnuts and picked out pumpkins. It rained steadily the entire time. Mom was disappointed, but I suggested we look at it as an adventure. I mean, people who live in Washington and England don't let rainy weather keep them inside, so why should we? In the end, with our attitudes thus adjusted, we had a great time. And I know one little boy who didn't mind the rain a bit—after all, rain is the only good way to make puddles to jump in.

I love weather. I love wind, rain, snow, storms, sun. I love interesting cloud formations. I love to watch storms. I like living in a state that has interesting and sometimes unpredictable weather that does not include hurricanes.

Sunday it was 70 degrees and sunny—very strange for late October. Monday it rained (not so strange) but it was still in the upper 60s. Today we had a storm that would have been more at home in July than October. Gale-force winds, tornado warnings and sirens, schools closed, power outages, and a big dose of heavy rain. By the end of the week the highs are supposed to be in the 40s. What a state!

Growing up a favorite movie of mine was Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day. Tomorrow I plan to introduce my son to this little film. The time is just right.

Read more...