Spring 2016

[JimB]

Yes I know it's not spring yet so I'm probably jumping the gun here a little. However, the days are now getting longer which means that spring is on the way.  As a matter of fact I think we had spring here yesterday when we broke the last record of 57^o and reached 60^o.

[Richard Myers]

   Sorry, Jim. We have at least two more months of winter.  You need to heat your home and make sure you drive to work each day so we can enjoy more 70 degree days. You are experiencing global warming from heating your house according Al Gore and Obama.  On the other hand, some are saying the weather is cooling. Many of these consider the earth's temperature changes over the last 200,000 years and believe they came from monkeys. I think that includes Gore and Obama.

We know there are going to be catastrophic weather events as we near the end. Some are wanting to explore Mars so they maybe will have somewhere for humans to go when the Earth has been destroyed by man. They also believe we are going to run out of fossil fuel within the next thousand years.

I wonder if we at times also suffer from "unbelief" and for a moment  believe what some of these "experts" are saying?

As time allows, let us work for the saving of souls so they won't experience the end when the Earth is cleansed by fire. That is true global warming. Meanwhile enjoy your Indian summer weather. It is probably going to be a cold winter for you soon enough. At least that is what the "experts" are saying due to El Nino.

[Wally]

Yes I know it's not spring yet so I'm probably jumping the gun here a little. However, the days are now getting longer which means that spring is on the way.  As a matter of fact I think we had spring here yesterday when we broke the last record of 57^o and reached 60^o.

I'm enjoying this El Nino event.  We haven't come close to 60°, and I haven't even seen 50° since Nov., but it's been well above normal, and could be the warmest Dec. on record.  I was listening to an interview with a meteorologist recently and he attributed this to El Nino.  When asked if Global Warming was responsible, he said that if it was a factor, it was nearly insignificant, and that this is what we expect during a strong El Nino.  Interestingly, the strongest El Nino on record was in 1997, and the one in 1982 was only slightly weaker than the current one.  So, I sort of yawn when people start blaming it on "Climate Change." 

The fly in the ointment, however, is that the El Nino of 1997/98 produced a 5-day ice storm in January.  Some folks lost power for 2 weeks, and it was worse in Quebec.  We don't need a repeat of that.

[Wally]

51° today; Daffodils poking up about an inch.  Feels like March 25, but it won't last.   It's too warm to burn much wood, so I can't continue my usual contribution to global warming.   

[Wally]

As if to remind us what real winter can be like, it's -12° right now, and the wind is howling.  3 mornings in a row below 0°, after having only one night below 0° the whole month of January.  But it's been so mild this winter, that I can't complain too much about this little setback.  It's supposed to rain and be in the 40's Tuesday.  Spring is only 35 days away. 

[JimB]

72^o yesterday and Red-winged Black Birds showed up a few days earlier than last year if I remember correctly. Around here I don't think Sandhill Cranes nor Canadian Geese went anywhere all winter as I saw them off and on all winter.

[Richard Myers]

72!!  That sounds most unusual for MI.  I am freezing. We had spring weather two weeks ago, but now we are in the 50s. I am thinking about turning the heater back on!   

I have squash and melons plants I do not know what to do with now. El Nino is bringing rain to California and cooler weather.

WE need the rain, but I miss the balmy spring weather. We may have a late spring now that the rains have begun in earnest.

[Wally]

72^o yesterday and Red-winged Black Birds showed up a few days earlier than last year if I remember correctly. Around here I don't think Sandhill Cranes nor Canadian Geese went anywhere all winter as I saw them off and on all winter.

It reached us today, with 75° in southern Maine.  Only managed 59° at my place, but that's 20° above normal.  No complaints here.    Thank-you, El Nino.  And yet it snowed much of the day on Monday.

I had my first RW Blackbird on Feb. 28; Grackle on Mar. 1.  Average first date for the blackbird is Mar. 12.  Last year they were late, as was everything else.  I have a patch of snowdrops that is about to bloom, too.

[JimB]

I had my first RW Blackbird on Feb. 28; Grackle on Mar. 1.

Your date on the RW Blackbird would agree with a friend of mine but I didn't hear any from my front yard until yesterday. It never occurred to me to watch for Grackles. Around here they are fairly well disliked as dirty nuisance bird so I didn't even know they migrated but now that you say that I definitely don't see them in the winter.

72!!  That sounds most unusual for MI.  I am freezing. We had spring weather two weeks ago, but now we are in the 50s. I am thinking about turning the heater back on!   

Yeah... definitely unusual but as Wally said thank you El Nino!   50? I'll take that any day this time of the year.

[Richard Myers]

Its a little rough after having 70 for a couple of weeks. Tomato plants are not happy.  We share the cold feet. We have gone from drought to flooding.  Things are out of order. There is an unseen power working....in both directions!      Jesus is coming soon!

[JimB]

A sign of spring....

[Wally]

I have a few of those blooming.  They started early this year, but are looking rather peaked right now after 8° yesterday morning and 11° this morning.  They won't like tonight much better, as it's forecast to drop to single digits again.  If it does, it will be my latest record for single digits in the 30 years I've been here.  Oh, but this thread is about spring.  Sorry, it's on hiatus in Maine.  Feels more like February.

[JimB]

Wally, I feel your pain. Maybe not as acutely as you do since it was a full 10^o warmer than you at 22^o this morning.

I'm waiting for the trees to start to bud here soon I hope. I like taking my first hike of the year just as the trees are budding. They have their own color and hue and although the new buds lack the vibrancy of color the leaves have in the fall they still have their own beauty in colors when you can look across a valley at a full hillside.

[Richard Myers]

It must be getting into spring, now?

Here are few shots to encourage that spring is here! 

[JimB]

You have received spring Richard, that is for sure. We are still waiting. Sabbath, yesterday was the first day this year that truly felt like spring. Maybe it's time to see if my cheap used canoe that I bought last fall will float! 

[Wally]

We finally hit 70° for the first time today.  It was about 75°.  It's been dry and windy since Wednesday, and since the snow melted several weeks early, I was able to til the garden today.  That's only the 3rd or 4th time, I've been able to do that before May.

[JimB]

[Vicki]

Beautiful!