General topics.

Bandy7, I am originally from upstate New York, we use to joke that the upstate area was the land of ice and snow. We would walk to school in a blizzard and think nothing of it :)

Well, when it did snow here in Wash D.C., we would get heavy snow which caused a commuting nightmare. I remember the Federal government would have stagger hours for going home, so not everyone would be dumped onto the roads at the same time. And it would still take them hours to get home.

Another issue was ice. The snow would start to melt causing water to stand on the road, then refreeze overnight. With a SUV-4 wheel drive we would have all 4 wheels spinning. Now a days the State/Countries use a brine on the roads to keep the water from freezing.

And without snow this winter, I miss see on the local news the empty store shelves any time the local news would be calling for snow. Oh the public panic. I always wondered, did people eat more when it snowed?

Catskie62: It certainly was.

golden: It was a Good Friday shock and our family of four suddenly became a family of three. My brother was only 16. Thank you.

Bandy: At 76 years of age, I don't plan to relocate out west. Individuals who are not seasoned winter drivers do panic - in Maryland. I had bosses tell me that I'd best go home then because six inches of snow had fallen. I told him that I grew up with six to seven foot walls of snow from November to April; nothing ever closed in Massachusetts. I went to social events at the start of a blizzard. As freqflyer mentioned, black ice is prevalent in the mid Atlantic area. I possessed an ideal automobile for that - a Grand Marq.

LLama,

You were there for your mom for a long time. Experiences like you had of losing a father so young, causes a young person to mature very quickly.

It is interesting that many people are shy by nature but when they find themselves in a situation where they have to speak up, they somehow find the ability to do so.

When I was very young I was quite shy, not necessarily around people that I was close to, but with strangers. I seemed to outgrow my shyness later on in life.

Bandy,

We see the empty shelves when there is a warning of a hurricane. I think people do panic about having enough to eat. I don’t think they necessarily eat more during a storm.

Having said that though, New Orleanians have been known in the past to evacuate vertically and having hurricane parties until the storm passes.

Our city is below sea level so if people don’t evacuate they will visit friends or relatives that have a second floor due to flooding in many neighborhoods.

What did you do in upstate NY when the winter storms hit? I have a friend that grew up in Maine and she said that people are use to the long winters and being snowed in.

Need: No, I really wasn't with my mother a long time THEN. As I said, I was 20 when I lost my daddy. He was only 50 and died of a massive heart attack. I got married at 25 and moved to Maryland.

That’s right, Llama

I forgot that you moved away that soon. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Need: I honestly must be losing it as I don't think I'd ever mentioned that.

Llama,

Maybe you didn’t say the exact time frame. I just remember that you said that you had moved away.

Many years ago my husband was offered a job in New England, just outside of Boston.

I have been to New England on vacation to see the fall foliage. It was absolutely beautiful, as if God took a paintbrush and painted all of the leaves red, orange and gold. I loved our trip.

The thought of moving there terrified me though. I didn’t think that I could handle those long New England winters! So, my husband didn’t interview with the engineering firm.

Now, I sort of regret not trying it out. I have never lived anywhere outside of New Orleans.

I think it’s easier for people to adjust to a warmer climate than for us to adjust to a bitter cold climate. I could be wrong. I’m sure there are some exceptions. My daughter loved living in Colorado. She adores the snow and mountains.

Need,

Interesting, the perspective that people have in regard to weather and seasons .

My husband had various opportunities to move to warmer climates . We couldn’t do it.

Although I no longer love snow as it gets more inconvenient to shovel the older we get , I would sincerely miss the definite changes of seasons. I would sorely miss when the leaves change color , how the color of the sky changes as well .

We have gone south on vacation a few times at Christmas time and the kids did not like seeing Santa’s on the front lawns with palm trees, 🤷‍♀️


Winter can get cumbersome and I long for Spring now . But I know and anticipate a show of fragrant flowers will be emerging soon along with baby lime green leaves . Sometimes I can’t decide if I like better , the Spring sea of lime green or the multicolor collage of Fall leaves.


The holiday season marks the beginning of Winter . Spring makes everything seem new and fresh . Summer reminds me of when the kids were young and home from school . Besides Fall’s colors ,there is the crisp fresh air and November sky that also has various color changes day to day .


But it’s all I’ve ever known . I totally understand how the winter would not be appealing . It can drag on . It is the reason so many retire to Florida . I guess it’s a trade off . I put up with winter because I do like the significant differences of the 4 seasons . It seems to pull me closer to nature and I find that comforting .


We did move “ south” to Pennsylvania from Long Island , NY 18 years ago . It was the compromise for an opportunity that was too good for DH to pass up . The weather and seasons are mostly similar to what we were used to .

I do miss being able to drive the car onto the ferry and in no time we are in Connecticut , on our way to anywhere in New England . The kids loved the ferry ride , it was part of the vacation to enjoy unlike an airplane .

When DH and I were dating , the ferry ride was sometimes the date. We would bring along our packed picnic meal , parked the car at port , bought tickets for walk on passengers for the ride, never getting off on the other side , to return again when the ferry turned around. We called the ferry our yacht.

I could go on and on about how I miss going to the beach anytime I wanted and how it changes with the seasons as well . We do miss the smell of the sea breeze .

I always struggled with organized religion . But in trying times when I needed to feel closer to God, I would drive to the beach by myself and sit where the ocean meets the sand , for me that’s where God was . It was constant. The water a constant . The waves come and retreat , but they always come back again.

With my sister ( and best friend ) in hospice right now , I could really use my solitary moment at the beach altar.

We’re in an area of Canada that gets 4’-5’ of snow per year. Intermittent melts, so it’s never that deep all at once. We put crampons on our boots to walk the dogs when it’s icy. We have snow tires on the car November to April. Our house has a generator. We have fireplaces. I keep tabs on the forecast and snowfalls rarely strand us, but when they do we hunker down and enjoy the beauty. Movies, puzzles, games, books... we embrace it. Husband works from home so no commute.

Online education has dampened the thrill of “Snow Day!”

Right now my bird feeders are bustling with overlapping juncos and returning spring birds. I still get excited the first time I hear Spring Peepers, Wood Frogs and American Toads!

We frantically cram all we can into summer.

There’s still 4” of snow but I’m already planning this year’s
(after having been suspended a few years due to COVID-19 and my mother’s needs) live music and karaoke dance on the lawn see old friends make new friends eat too much enjoy a day in the country camp if you like pool party and bonfire.

Sadly, the blah four weeks of January usually feel longer than the four months of summer. But we do appreciate the seasonal changes.

Anabanana

You are right . There are fun ways to spend the winters indoors. I have noticed also that we do seem to see the adult children more in winter , cook, bake watch movies on the weekends. I do enjoy the slower pace , just hanging out together .

I think March is the toughest month . By then we want spring .

Way2tired, November is my least favourite. Vegetation is dead, so the world is brown and grey. If we do get snow, it’s just enough to be annoying, not fun. The dogs track in mud and dead leaves. Worst of all, the hours of daylight are still getting shorter.

We designated November to be comedy movies and shows month, Which my husband needs after our youngest and I put him through spooky October.

I’m ok with March because I enjoy the sunny evenings. And birds are singing! We have seeds and peat pots ready to start. It’s an optimistic month. We’ll likely have a few bouts of snow and freezing rain in April so no outdoor planting until mid-May.

June and July are my favourites. Bring me summer!

We suffer most in the heat of summer here!

I don’t especially like the cold weather. I love warmer weather and sunshine.

If I could live anywhere in the world it would be on a sunny island near the beach with a nice breeze blowing while I sip a refreshing drink.

Anabanana, March is cold and windy here, when I’m yearning to get outside more.
November , although it can get gray and yes no leaves, there is something crisp and fresh about the air and when the sky is not grey , it can get pretty deep blues in the afternoon.

Need, You should live in Hawaii . I’ve been there twice . I tagged along when my husband went for a business trip, then we stayed a bit longer . Best beach island weather .

I am in the banana belt of Ontario so I've always counted March as the first month of spring, we may still get plenty of snow in the coming weeks but by March the sun is strong enough that you can see snow melt even on days below freezing and the early birds arrive and hardiest snow drops and crocus start to bloom. When the spring peepers and toads start to sing it's a guarantee we're well on the way to warm weather - it's still always magical to me :)

Cwillie, if you’ve got crocus and snow drops in bloom, you must be in or very near Windsor, my home town. Now I’m a bit northeast, in that strip between the banana and snow belts.

I'm up farther than that Anabanana, Windsor and Leamington are the extreme banana belt 🤣.
But the snowdrops I planted last year beside my driveway are blooming today and people with sheltered yards do have crocus, some heavy rain last week really pushed things along. Now if only the rest of the snow would hurry up and disappear.

(sounds like we probably aren't all that far from each other)

For Anabanana, from Thomas Hood:

No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
 
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!

Yikes Margaret, that’s pretty bleak!

Way,

Hawaii would work! 😊

Margaret,

That’s quite an accurate description of some places in November!

Ana,

How do your dogs handle the bitter cold?

My daughter lived in Colorado for a couple of years. She is back home in New Orleans now.

Her Siberian husky misses the colder climate. He loved playing in the snow in Colorado.

NeedHelpWithMom, it rarely dips below -30F here and we average about 15F in the winter. My Great Danes are old, so they’re satisfied with half mile jaunts, like to meet the school bus and get the mail. They are indoor dogs but have the run of the property while outside. The male shadows us indoors and out. Mr Curious.

Ana,

I love Danes. I wanted one so badly but my husband didn’t want a dog quite so large.

I see Danes at the dog park when we take our granddog there to play. Huskies need so much exercise, so when we are dog sitting it’s easier to take him to the park to run and play.

We went from a mini schnauzer to a greyhound. The schnauzer was sweet but a yippy yappy pooch, the grey was a couch potato! I loved both of them. They lived to be 13 years old.

Need: How interesting that your DH was offered a job near Boaton.

hi everyone!

i'll continue to be mostly gone from the internet.
in case anyone's wondering where all the snow is, it's HERE.
spring.......? oh boy. spring, with meters and meters of snow. the birds are totally confused, but they continue to sing like crazy at 5 am. how do birds manage to be in such a good mood every day?

bundle of joy :)
❤️🙂

”Meters” of snow? Are you in Canada? I am. We have bare patches of lawn but about 30cm/1’ (I’m bilingual) of snow in the shade of the woods.

Maybe the birds are frustrated. 🎶 Chirpity chirpy chirp! 🎶
“We’re freezing! Why won’t anyone take us seriously?! Dang our melodic sweetness!”