One Of Those March Days

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Weather Whiplash

The high last Friday was below zero. Today it will be 62 degrees. That’s Ohio for you. If you don’t like the weather right now, look out for the whiplash you’ll get when it changes again.

It was warm enough yesterday I ditched my jacket and rolled down the windows while out and about. It was my last day of holiday bargain shopping before the start of my annual No Spend Challenge which begins today.

This is the last Friday of 2022 and the next to last day of the year. It feels like vacation is rapidly slipping through my fingers but I’m hoping to spend these last few days enjoying some quiet relaxation and nursing my weather whiplash.

I don’t know why I bother because it will change again soon!

Favorite Trees And Fading Sunset

We have enjoyed a long run of gorgeous fall days. That all ends today when it turns rainy and cooler. Tomorrow will be rainy and cold, ushering in what appears to be a long patch of cooler days and cold nights.

The rain isn’t so thrilling but it’s hard to get excited about the impending holidays when it’s 68 degrees and sunny. So I’m kind of excited to see the mercury drop and maybe stop being such a grinch. All the same, I took advantage of yesterday’s sunshine with a short walk after work at Kinnikinnick Fen near Chillicothe. I have favorite trees everywhere I go and the picture above shows one of them at the Fen.

When I came home last night, the western sky was aglow with the remnants of sunset. You can see in the silhouette that the trees have lost their leaves. These are some of my favorite trees here at home – with or without their foliage.

It was a remarkable end to the day and to this streak of fine fall days. Better pack your umbrella and put on those galoshes if you’re out and about today. You will need them!

Spring

In March 1855, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal “The first pleasant days of spring come out like a squirrel and go in again.”

He clearly was talking about Ohio where we sometimes experience all four seasons in a single spring day. That has certainly been the case this spring and I have heard endless complaints about it.

What we seem to forget is that this IS spring. We like those seventy degree blue sky days when the air is calm and clean and we can dig around in our flowerbeds.

The reality is often much different with gray skies, sleet and snow plus cold wind so strong it will knock you down.

Today will be 84 and sunny – more like summer, if you ask me. Don’t worry though- we will be back in the fifties with some rain next week. Ohio weather may be unpredictable right now but that uncertainty is a trademark of spring and one that I try to appreciate.

Break out the shorts today but keep that cute umbrella close for next week. If the sun always shines, we might not appreciate it so much!