Talking to Your Past

One of the amazing things about blogging is that you can talk to your past.  But there is no guarantee your past will see you.  Or hear you.

On April 30, 2011 I posted (with a couple of edits) this post on spring.  Yes, spring is usually a rare commodity here in upstate NY.  Late to come, quick to leave.

 If only I could blog to my past self today.  I wouldn't mention the floods of September of last year-why sadden her?.  No, I would have talked about a wish come true, and how wishes coming true can sometimes have a strange twist.

So here goes:

Dear AM of April 30, 2011:
You wished for spring last year, after a hard winter.  We don't get as many hard winters here as we used to, oh, 20 years ago but last years' winter was hard.  And bruising.  Two people I know fell and hit their heads.  At least all I did was bruise my butt.

The winter of 2011-2012 was nonexistent.  What if I told you we shoveled snow maybe 3 times?  That the sidewalks were bare for maybe 90% of the winter?  That we had crocuses blooming before spring came on the calendar?  Or that the Bradford Pears here were blooming before the end of March?

It was heaven, AM.  It was everything I thought an early spring would be.  The trees stayed in bloom for weeks (it seemed.)  In fact you can still see forsythias (also out before the end of March) here and there.   Today we walked in Binghamton and those trees with fragrant white blooms and lilac like leaves (but these are trees, definitely) were in bloom, perfuming the 78 degree air.  Crabapples were showing their pink best.  Late daffodils and mid to late season tulips were competing with creeping phlox to give the best display.

So, what would you say to the fact that WE HAVE SNOW IN THE FORECAST FOR MONDAY?  No, not flurries.  Accumulation.  At least we aren't in Rochester, where I hear they are predicting a foot.

Would you scream and stamp your feet and say IT AIN'T FAIR?  Oh please, nature, don't pull the spring rug from under us.  Please keep the flowers and warmth coming.  Please....let the weatherfolks be wrong.

If you could talk to your self from a year ago, what would you say?  And, are you about to face a very unpleasant spring surprise from Mother Nature, too?

And now, the post from April 30, 2011:

Suddenly Spring

Only a week ago our trees were just budding out.  Forsythias were out, but winter was hanging on for dear life.  We were still having enough cloudy days with temperatures barely into the 50's.

Don't blink, Southern Tier, or you will miss spring!

We went downstate for three days and when we got back on Monday, the Bradford Pears were in bloom.  And now they are fading fast, along with the flowering cherries and some other flowering trees.  The magnolias are budding today;  by Monday they will probably be gone too.  The redbuds are coming out now along with some early azaleas.  Andromedas are still blooming but not for long.   Hey, what happened?

Unfortunately, this is what happens when we have late springs.  We get the "everything at once" syndrome.  Green bomb.  Suddenly Spring.

This does make me long, in a way, for the springs of the south.

On March 21, we stayed in Mt. Airy, North Carolina and the Bradford Pears were in full bloom.

 On March 30, we stayed in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and the Bradford Pears were in full bloom.

I don't wish for tornadoes but sometimes I wish we could have a spring like that.  The stately progression of one flowering tree after another.  And they even hang around for a while.

But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying every bit of it.  Spring is here, here, here, here!