February 28, 2011

The last day of February and for being a short month, it has been a long month, or seems that way to me.  It has been an interesting month as well.

We started off with a Blizzard, and I mean Blizzard.  A very unusual snow storm for my part of the country.  We ended up with a foot of snow and drifts three to four feet high.  The pre warnings said we might have ice, so we were ready.  The generator was in place and we had my grandson come out to stay here in case of power loss.  We parked the cars in areas away from the trees to prevent damage from falling branches and ice.  But actually we only got a thin sheeting of ice and no power loss or damage, but it was under the snow and with the brutally cold temps, it just wouldn't go away.

We are used to getting 2" to 4", maybe even 6" of snow but then in a couple of days the sun comes out, the temps warm up and it all goes away.  But not this one.  We had snow for over a week and the cars were surrounded by drifts.  My daughter had to shovel hers out and was able to get out but the roads were very slick so she missed work, as did my grandson who had to leave his car here but was able to go back to his little house in town.

My car stayed buried for almost two weeks because just a week after the blizzard, we ended up getting even more snow, reports were from 4" to 6" and I'm not sure exactly how much only that my car was a "snow mobile" as it was not only surrounded by snow drifts but covered up as well with snow.

Of course, living in a rural area, we are the last that roads are cleared but in this instance, even the major highway 1/4 mile from me took days for the crews to get out and really clear it.  We are not prepared for the type of weather we had and cities and towns across the state were at a loss and again not much could be done until the storm had passed and then the highway and street departments worked around the clock to clear the roads.   A huge thanks and hats off to those workers who put in the long hours in the freezing cold to make our roads safe so people could get back to work or get out to replenish the groceries.

It was so bad that we had no mail service for four days and of course, schools were closed all over.  Now, I know some probably think we sound like wimps that got bogged down with a little snow.  When areas across the country were getting 2 feet or more, here we are complaining about a foot and being shut down.  The only difference is, that we ordinarily don't have weather like this so we don't have the manpower, the equipment or supplies to handle it and since it might be a once in a lifetime event, it really isn't high on the priority list of our cities and towns.  And this year, we made history with the largest amount of snowfall plus the coldest temps ever recorded in the state.  As far as that goes, one small town in the state actually made national news as being the coldest city in all the United States with a -31 degrees.  That was actual temp, not wind chill.

Here where I live, we saw temps dip to -12 and -14 which were unheard of.  I turned up the heat in the house, opened cabinet doors and still had to get out the hair dryer to thaw frozen pipes.  Luckily no broken ones and they thawed quickly but gave me a few hours of concern.

But then, things turned and we began to get "normal" winter weather.  We do have cold days and we get some snow but nothing like we experienced.  But once the snow was gone, we looked forward to those warm days and sure enough, the thermometers began to climb and we've had several days in the 60's and even a couple making it to the 70's.  The flowers are popping up and ready to bloom, the grass is showing color replacing the brown of winter and the sky seems bluer and much clearer than it did before.

The itch is on to get outside and enjoy the warmth and sunshine and piddle in the yard or flower beds.  Although we still know that we can get hit again but are keeping fingers crossed the worst if behind us for this winter season and spring is really just around the corner.

But spring isn't without its quirks and problems too.  With the changing temps and the warm gulf air pushing northward while the northern frigid air doesn't want to give up its domain and pushes southward, there is a clash and yesterday we saw that clash as thunderstorms popped up, some severe with the thunder, lightning and hail, high winds and even reports of tornadoes.

We enjoy this beautiful weather but we also have to be aware that Mother Nature gets cranky during the change of seasons and has to let us know that she still is in charge.  We may worship the warmth and sunshine of a warm spring day but if she is out of sorts, she lets us know by hitting us with a dose of her reality to let us know it just isn't time yet and we must be patient.

So on this last day of February, we looked forward to tomorrow to see if March will be marching in like a lion or a lamb and then to wait all month to see how she will exit.  And during that time, we will play the little games of warm and cold and maybe even another visit from old man winter but then again, we may enjoy warm days and beautiful flowers as we wait for the April showers.