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gandle

It isn't even pretty

gandle
14 years ago

Snow in April that is. Got up this morning to find all the grassy areas covered wih snow. Fortunately, all the roads and sidewalks had enough residual heat to melt the snow.

While it is common on the high plains to have snow in April it really isn't welcomed our minds are tuned to the coming spring and last winter was an especially rough one. We are still running the wood burner every day and hoping for a week of warm weather.

The minor bulbs are making a valiant effort in trying to put on a show but tne incessant cold winds and low temps are making them struggle.

I suppose we will go from winter to summer without a distinct spring, even that would be welcome. Tired of shivering when I go outside

Comments (13)

  • kathyjane
    14 years ago

    George, I'd gladly send you some our ninety-degree temps, if I could! This is beastly WX in the Mid-Atlantic region.
    Always extremes when it comes to changing seasons!
    ---My best to you and Leone.

  • instar8
    14 years ago

    This was last year on April 9th, my grand-girl made it prettier...we must've sucked up all your spring this year, cuz so far it's been a warm March and April...I've been saying all alomg it's gonna turn stone-cold in May, when it's time to really get things going.


    {{gwi:153264}}

  • jazmynsmom
    14 years ago

    I think we gave the East coast our winter and took all the loveliness out of your spring for ourselves too! As soon as it stops raining, our lawn is in desperate need of mowing. I'm seeing leaves on trees, and bees on flowers. And yesterday Andie turned me on to the fact that the hummingbirds are back too! (Though I'll be shocked if I see one before May.)

    Just as I was pulling into my driveway, I noticed the first of my tulips had put on her pink blush. Our crocus are finished, but our daffies and hyacinth are in the very beginnings of their peak. I'll go wish you some warmth on my tulip. I have no idea if one can make a wish on a tulip and if so, whether or not the same "don't tell" jinx rule applies, but I'm going to just go with it and hope for the best...

  • mawheel
    14 years ago

    Our thermostat is set on "Automatic" and day before yesterday, when the house temperature got to 78 degrees, the A/C kicked in! The outside temp. was 85 degrees and today, may go to 90; IMO, it's way-y-y-y- too early for that kind of heat! Of course, by Friday the high for the day is supposed to be only in the low 50s. Mother Nature just doesn't want us to get too comfortable!! :>)

    George, I hope your weather will warm up, soon.

  • anneliese_32
    14 years ago

    Those last couple of days with temps around 85 did not help the forsythias and the daffs. They went from glorious at Easter to on their last leg today. On the other hand, the dogwoods starting to show white. Hope they don't get damaged by the storms we are supposed to get tonight, and then it get more normal again.
    I don't like to use insect spray inside or outside at that, but today I had no choice. I had to move a floor to ceiling bookcase which normally gets moved only when painting. The thing is 7ft wide and 3 books deep. Behind it I found 5 recluse spiders and 3 egg sacks. I have been bitten by a brown recluse 32 years ago and have no intention of repating the expericence. Right now the room is closed up and Raid can is empty. All the books are for the moment outside and will be inspected shortly.
    Gandle, I could use your cold weather to help in the spiders demise.

  • posieh
    14 years ago

    We had an unusual March with no snow and only a few drops of rain. We need rain badly or we will have more grass fires. Our temps have been up in the 50" and low 60"s which is warm for this time of year. The small lakes are open, no tulips or Forsythias or Crocus as yet. We are having an early Spring which is both good and bad.....but no one is complaining too much. Just send rain! Can't wait for flowers!

  • instar8
    14 years ago

    We were under a fire alert last week, not a normal thing in northern IN....but it's pouring just now...59 degrees..

  • west_gardener
    14 years ago

    instar8, glad you posted the pic of your grandgirl enjoying the snow. Kids seems to have a happy time in the snow.
    Below are a couple of pic of our grandson enjoying the snow at Lake Tahoe in late March.


    {{gwi:153265}}


    {{gwi:153266}}


    Posted the pics with permission of DD.

  • mjmercer
    14 years ago

    Yep, it's been a brutal winter most everywhere in the States.

    I've included a link to a site that helped get me through it. Just point & click your mousie on the page to create your own version of a spring garden (sorry...I have a kitten and "mousie" is what we've been calling his toys -- it's stuck in my head that way lol).

    Karen

    Here is a link that might be useful: Create a flower garden

  • calliope
    14 years ago

    We had temps just shy of ninety two days ago. Today I awoke to sixty eight, and it's dropping as the day progresses. Fifty now. I have about a dozen of my fruit trees in full bloom. The rest in closed to full bud. Forecasts are for two nights of low to mid thirties. I had no fruit last year from a freeze. I surely hope we miss a killing freeze this year. My pantry is nearly devoid of fruits. sigh.

  • shilty
    14 years ago

    Calliope -

    Any chance you can turn a sprinkler on your fruit trees?

    Running water won't freeze, saves them from frost...

  • west_gardener
    14 years ago

    calliope, I have pretty much the same situation here in CA. My naval orange, lemon and apple trees are blooming/fruiting and it has been a threat of freezing temps for three nights in a row. I've lost part of trees and fruits from frost from time to time.

  • calliope
    14 years ago

    No sprinklers aren't an option for me........the trees are located on various parts of the property, and it's not going to be a radiative frost, but just a deep low pressure with wind chill issues from gusts. We are on spring/irrigation well too and water is not looked upon as an infinite resource in a given time period. Some of the apple trees are quite large. I'd need to call our volunteer fire department. LOL.

    Under the right conditions, the fruit set may have little to no damage down to around 29F if it just dips for a short while, but the heat has blown open the blooms to their most susceptible stage. Also, if the freeze doesn't get them, the daytime highs might be low enough to deter pollinators for several days, right at the most crucial point. We also lost our bee colony from the hard, protracted winter. It was a warmish forty-something day in February, and I saw them out on wing. They shouldn't have been flying at that temperature. I knew then they were starving and had a long ways to go until anything was in bloom. That happened once before in a freakish warm spell in late winter. I had a g'house vented open and so many honeybees flew in to feast on the open blooms, and got caught as the temps plummeted, that I had to shovel their little bodies out the next morning. They would not exit the warmth of the g'house into the cold air as evening set in.....even though I left the vents open. A loss of several thousand bees isn't insignificant in itself. sigh.