OT: I Think I've Died and Gone To Heaven !!!

The weather in Michigan has been just BEAUTIFUL! Long standing records for warm temperatures as far back as 1903 are being or have been broken this past week. The trees are leafing out and the flowers blooming.

St Paddy's Day my granddaughter rode her horse across the street to the tree farm in just shorts and a t-top and went wading in the pond there. Her mare just loves the pond. She loves to snorkel and play and paw and dance around and splash (I think she likes to hear my granddaughter squeal!)

Even the old mare (32 years old) was dancing around and splashing in the pond like a youngster. We got some great pictures.

Gggrrrr
It is snowing here. Has been since noon. Every time the winds pick up the building across the street disappears. All the grass has disappeared.

Ach, I'm so sorry, BlackSpinner!!! The average for this time of year here is 40 degrees and we've been running in the 70s and high 80s.

Colorado, which is usually in the freezing to 40's this time of year has also been running 60's to mid-70's. Quite gorgeous. The caveat is the dry weather is not good as we need strong spring snows in the mountains not just for skiers, but also to keep the reservoirs full of drinking water.

Yeah, the last time we had an "easy winter" like we did this year the spring and summer were hore-eye-bull for bugs and molds and all those kind of nasty things that didn't get killed off as they normally would during the winter.

I second the beautiful Michigan weather! It was so hot this week, they broke down and turned on the air conditioning in my building because people were passing out in the labs!

Several years ago I subscribed to a NOAA publication that gives way more detail than any normal person would want about the El Nino/La Nina sea surface temperature oscillation that exists in the Pacific, which has a profound effect on our regional weather patterns. When sea surface temperatures are above normal, evaporation of seawater increases, making for more rain. When sea surface tempeatures are below average, we get less rain. The effect of relatively small temperature changes translates into a surprisingly large change in rainfall. We have had next to zero rainfall in southern California this rainy season, which is now pretty much over. No more rain for us until next Fall. That is consistent with this being a La Nina year. Last year we had a moderate El Nino and we had lots of rain.

What we're experiencing now is the end of the La Nina condition that followed a weak El Nino last year. It's interesting to look through all the data, but as the effects subside the relevance to our weather patterns diminish, too. You might find something here that is relevant to the weather in your region.

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/a ... odisc.html

Here in central Maine the temps have been in the 80's for the last couple of days. We're going back to more 'normal' temps tomorrow.

-Kathryn

My hubby is a Maine-iac! West Enfield, about 40 miles north of Bangor.

The hot weather's one thing... we've been having a 'yellow snow' as amos puts it... pollen! Pollen count one day was over 9000. Pine pollen is the stuff that's yellow or so I've learned, and something around here I react to (not sure if it's the pine or what it is). It's not so good for my asthma.

So I'm hibernating... supposed to rain soon... so that'll help.

We skipped spring and are not having summer in NC! I hope that no one remembers spring and we have to revert to the cooler temps!! And on topic, amazing that with being on CPAP at night, no allergy problems!

Slinky, I picked asparagus from my garden yesterday, also found fiddleheads still hunting morels It's 2 months ahead in michigan kathy

Asparagus AND fiddleheads?????? Oooooh! I am GREEN w/envy! Do you can or freeze the fiddleheads? We boil them up w/some salt pork and freeze them.

We also have had unseasonably warm weather pretty much all winter. One small snow that was barely worth measuring. This week we have finally had some much needed rain. I expect April and May to be pretty exciting here in tornado alley.

Down side to the warm winter....I am already picking ticks off me from my latest little bit of brush cleaning. Ticks and chiggers are going to be out in massive numbers. I hate the little b..tards. Every bite itches for 2 weeks.

I never have enough fiddleheads to freeze, just sauté in butter , will have to try the salt pork , sounds good. Rain forecast today, should be good for shrooms