Timing is Everything

/ Ann Coleman

IMG_1185Usually, I can’t wait for the arrival of Spring.  By the time March rolls around, I want nothing more than to be finished with Winter.  I hate Winter’s short, cold days and its long, even colder nights.  I hate the dry air in my house that creates chapped skin and generates shocks from static electricity despite the best efforts of my humidifier.  And although I love walking shelter dogs three times a week, I hate doing it in freezing temperatures.  My eyes water from the cold wind, my fingers turn white, and my nose hair freezes.  So ordinarily, the first sign of Spring fills me with joy and a hope for better things.

But this year, Spring came too early, even for me.  Although we had some truly cold days in December and a few frosty days in January, February brought an early warmth that fooled the local foliage into thinking that it was time to bloom.  Before the month was over, daffodils and crocuses were out, and the magnolias, pear trees, forsythia and many other bushes and trees I can’t name were in full flower.  And through it all, I just kept thinking, “But it’s too early for this!  It’s not even March yet!”

The timing of it all just struck me as off, and even a little bit creepy.  I felt out of sorts on many days, and even something as simple as getting dressed became complicated.    Should I go downstairs and root through my bins of warm-weather clothes to find something to wear, or put on one of the  winter sweaters I usually wear in February and hope that wherever I was going had air-conditioning?  As odd as it sounds, I yearned for at least one more snowfall, and temperatures that still required a coat.

And then March finally arrived, and I began to think that perhaps it wasn’t too early for the balmy weather and glorious colors of Spring after all.  Sure, it was still a few weeks ahead of schedule, but warm weather in March isn’t that unusual where I live.  So I finally decided that Spring had indeed sprung, and started in with my usual spring routines.  I packed away my heavy sweaters, began my Spring house-cleaning and even thought about putting out a few Easter decorations.  And whenever I was outside, I found myself not only noticing, but truly appreciating the cheerful colors on all the flowering trees and bushes.

Which meant, of course, that Winter has decided to make a comeback.  In a couple of days the temperatures are supposed to plummet, and we are expected to receive a “wintry mix” that will probably include accumulating snow.  The colorful blooms I’ve been admiring will wither and turn brown, while other plants that have just begun to bud out may not bloom at all.  I may even have to figure out where I stashed the snow shovel.

But I’m not worried.  I know that all I have to do to send Winter packing (at least until next year) is to pretend that I’m truly enjoying the cold weather this weekend.  I’m going to light a fire in the fireplace, put on my favorite winter sweater, make hot chocolate, and if there’s enough snow, I’m even going to build a snowman.  Because believe me, that’s all it will take to make Spring come roaring right back.

54 thoughts on “Timing is Everything”

  1. “We can find no fickler friend than Weather. A morning chat may end with chilling rebuffs. We are puzzled by scorching afternoon accusations. Then, those breezy peaceful sunset silences remind us that there could be no more fitting friend to bring color and life into our busy little worlds.” -Me.

    Hope you get a chance to build a snowman Ann.

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  2. I guess the weather has been crazy everywhere… and we better get used to it. Poor confused trees, though. They can’t just bundle up or choose to wear a t-shirt instead of a sweater. Spring has definitely sprung around here… until the next raging rainstorm. For now, though, I’m enjoying my warm early evening out on our deck. Aw, spring.

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    • Spring is a weird one this year, that’s for sure! I don’t know if it is global warming, or some other reason, but this year’s weather has been distinctly odd. All I know is I am finally ready for Spring, and yet Winter has decided to make a curtain call.

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  4. Lol…so you think you can play mind games with Mother Nature and win? Actually, you just might be able to accomplish that little trick though I don’t think the flowers will cooperate. That’s going to take a very different kind of trick.
    Enjoy your snowman😊 We’re getting our snow on Friday but today was low 60’s so……..

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    • I think Mother Nature has schooled me, big time! But I am a firm believer in the fact that whatever I am really wishing for brings about the opposite reaction, so I might try anyway. And either way, I’ll deal. You must be just a bit ahead of the weather from us. We are having colder weather on Friday (when I have to walk dogs), but the snow is forecast for Saturday, when good friends are supposed to be driving in from Iowa. I hope they make it! (And if I do make a snowman, I’ll post a pic!) Thanks, George!

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  5. Mother Nature can be a little schizophrenic for sure. We had our “last” winter day this past Sunday and I was in the same frame of mind to hunker down no enjoy winter on its way out. We had a glorious snowy then cloudy then snowy then a little sunny and finally sustained snow Sunday in front of the fire and later the TV. It was great to do nothing and not feel guilty about it. Here’s to you getting on e of those this week end and the… bring on Spring!

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    • I know what you mean! Even though I am 58 and my kids are no longer in school, there is a part of me that still enjoys a “snow day” just because those are the days when no one has any expectations of me whatsoever (if you don’t count my husband hoping I’ll help him shovel the driveway), and the feeling is truly liberating! Snow days are one of the few good things about winter, I think. That, and appreciation of Spring!

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    • Is it an unusual winter in Scotland? Or do you usually not get a lot of snow in the part of Scotland where you live? We usually have about three or four significant snow falls and several more “flurries” here in the Midwest, but this year we’ve had almost no snow.

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      • Well it’s been raining very much. But it was not cold enough to make snow. Just a few days I think. In this area where I’m at. Up in the Highlands it snowed. Interesting weather over here. I’m getting used to it, as I moved here recently.

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    • I live in Missouri, and our winter has been very odd. Some very cold days, but many more days that were warmer than usual, and I don’t remember things ever budding out quite this early.

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  9. We had a warm spell in February then Mother Nature drew a target on the weather map and placed us in the bullseye….

    I don’t know what it is about Scooter but the worse the weather, the more he likes it.

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    • I think we are just far enough south of you that we missed the cold and snow. I have family living in central Iowa, and I know their winter has been much tougher than ours. I hope Mother Nature give you a break next year and draws that bullseye somewhere else and far, far away.
      As for Scooter, I know just what you mean. The colder it is, the icier the sidewalks, the deeper the unshoveled snow, the happier the shelter dogs are. Also friskier, meaning they are joyfully leaping and pulling at the leash, while my old lady self is grimly hanging on to the other end, just trying to stay upright. And not always succeeding..

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    • I don’t remember having snow in April where I live, but we have had some really hard frosts that killed off all the blooms. One year it hit just as the azaleas were budding out, and I was so disappointed!

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  12. One can never be sure when it comes to weather. We had a real winter in our corner of Canada. So Nature was not fooled into believing that Spring had arrived. But nevertheless, it is a bit depressing and we are eagerly awaiting a change to warmer temperatures. I guess the lesson for you, who enjoyed all the cheerful signs of Spring, is to enjoy the moment. I wish you a return of the balmy springlike weather!

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  13. That’s why I always keep one set of summer clothes in my wardrobe during winter and vice versa 😉 In January I was still hoping it would snow again – which of course it didn’t – but now I’m more than ready for spring! A snowman though is always fun so I hope you can make one before spring surprises you 😄

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  14. Ah, so it’s YOUR fault that the temp is supposed to plummet tomorrow, and we’re getting a few inches of snow, and the wind has been gruesome today. Aha! 🙂 I happen to feel exactly the way you do re winter. But when the crocus started blooming two weeks ago, I got worried (as in – this is creepy). And now I’m afraid they’ll freeze and never come back. AND I hear songbirds – thinking it’s spring – and worry about them tomorrow. Filling the bird feeders high!

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    • Yep, it was me! I should never have decided to start appreciating the warm weather and kept right on thinking it was creepy! I hope the birds are going to be okay. Good idea putting out extra food for them!

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  15. Mother Nature has her own agenda Ann. I gave up a long time ago trying to work out the seasons. Melbourne is renowned for having ‘four seasons in one day’ and even today I’ve woken to a day that feels unsure of where it’s heading. Enjoy making that fire, drinking that hot chocolate and building that snowman. xo

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    • We did get snow today, but sadly, not enough to build a snowman. Still, it was beautiful and I did enjoy it. And I agree, Mother Nature is going to do whatever she wants to do, and I just need to learn to go with the flow! (We sometimes have all four seasons in one day here as well. I have learned to layer!)
      Have a wonderful weekend, Miram!!!

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  18. I am so ready for Spring for it will take me closer to retirement where I will relax, read, garden and just enjoy life in the slow lane. I have worked long, raised five children and have nine grandchildren, so my life is busy enough without adding work to it. So while I am contemplating all this – Mother Nature has a blizzard waiting for us in another day or two……so not a snow person….but spring is around the corner! I hope.

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  19. I don’t live where it snows, so I love winter. This past winter we got a lot of rain, it was gray more often then not. I realized on the days that the sun came out, I actually enjoyed the gray. I think I could live in Washington or Oregon . . . except for the snow. I am not looking forward to the heat and the long days of Spring, Summer, and Fall. 🙂

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  20. I’m reading this on the 14th and we just took a beating with the “arrival” of a winter wonderland. Except we’re completely plowed in and still have blizzard force winds. Did you get a lot?

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