Maybe the groundhog was right. We are in for an early spring. After all, who could doubt a long range weather forecast given by a large, burrowing rodent?
Seriously, we seem to have been in a pattern of spring-like weather since the beginning of the month. Most days, it’s been over 50. The weather has been like that long enough that daffodils are in full bloom. Weather forecasts by folks, who are not large burrowing rodents, show temperatures in the 50’s, and an occasional 60+ as far as the eye can see.
However, don’t put away those winter coats, snow shovels and bags of road salt just year. There is still time for it to be winter. We still have another week of February and then there is March. While March normally means that it’s over and we survived, March has occasionally given us some serious winter storms that can get those of us who were in the Navy to use some salty words we learned while serving aboard a ship.
So keep your winter gear handy.
Nevertheless, we are out of the woods, by now, as far as arctic blasts like the one we had at the beginning of January. It’s too late for that. The weather will have to find some other way to try to kill us besides freezing us to death. The sun is now hanging around in the sky until after 6 p.m. Sunrise has backed up to 7 a.m. The dark gloomy days of January are gone for another year. OK, they are dark and gloomy in December, too, but we have Christmas lights to cheer us up and the worst of the cold is yet to set in.
But there is still time for serious, accumulating snow, so all the five-year-olds out there can still look forward to another chance to play in it. Besides, they don’t get cold. Their moms have them bundled up, probably in some water-proof stuff so they won’t soak through. They will be having too much fun to be cold and will finally come in the house happy, even if they are totally ice-encrusted.
Dogs like it too, especially indoor dogs who have a warm, dry place to sleep after they get through playing. Most of us have probably seen our dog frolic in it and plow with his black doggie nose in it. Dogs and small children do seem to have some things in common.
