Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Winter Wonders - Winter Is Most Sincerely Dead

Ding dong, winter is dead. And not only merely dead, winter is most sincerely dead (to paraphrase a favorite movie quote).

In upstate New York, I have NEVER said that in my almost 30 years of living here.

Ever.

Let me explain that where I live, in the Southern Tier of New York State, we have a four season climate.  Winters here can be harsh (although far from the harshest - we are on the edge of a snowbelt that can see some amazing snow totals).  Normally, by March, we still have snow on the ground.

Most years, it seems that spring will never come.  I've called Spring "The Hunger that will not die".

Not this year.

We had some cold weather, but possibly a record snow (as in "no snow") year.  And now, winter is dead.  Here are the proofs.


Exhibit 1: The first crocus (not mine) I saw in Binghamton, on March 5.  And not through snow, either.  Last year, my first crocus was sighted on April 13.

Exhibit 2 - Snowdrops, also on March 5.
Exhibit 3-more crocuses on March 6.

Exhibit 4-a magnolia starting to bud out in downtown Binghamton.
And the final exhibit- the seven day forecast (in F, of course).  72 F is 22 C.  And I will be jumping for joy on every one of those little degrees.

Will it snow again?  Most likely, but hopefully just flurries.  Will we dip below freezing again?  Certainly, yes.  And that becomes a concern, if flowers come out too soon.

So it isn't time for a happy dance just yet.  We still don't know for sure if apples will be caught by a late freeze, as they were in 2012.  Or if our maple syrup season will be a dud.

But for now, the sap is rising, and spring is on its way.

How is the weather where you live?

9 comments:

  1. Here in DC, the temps are expected to reach 80 today. No wonder the Cherry Blossoms are rushing to bloom!

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  2. It's so different to where I am in Western Australia - we're just coming out of our usual hot Summer and into a bit of a mild Autumn with a few hot days thrown in - no snow or frost at all (even when Winter finally arrives!)

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  3. Enjoyed this thank you for sharing

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  4. Yes, you definitely made your case. And I love that song from Wizard of Oz!

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  5. Glad it's an early spring. I heard something about that predicted on Groundhog Day. We're... Well, it's California. Same ol', same ol'.

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  6. Crocuses! Your pics are so pretty, Alana. Enjoy the week's warm weather.

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  7. Here we're already feeling what promises to be a harsh summer. We need to conserve water and watch our electricity consumption.

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  8. It's getting too hot in the city that I live in...It used to have a pleasant weather in March but now I think due to global warming summers have come early with no sign of spring!

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  9. I live in Ohio that has been hit hard in past years. We have received snow but it disappears with in a day or so. Today has been rainy. Which is weird, as it normally is snow. Nothing blooming yet. As The grass is still yellow. Looks dead.

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