It’s pretty obvious by looking at the road closure map, that we never get enough ice or snow to really make preparing for any really worth it. The way it usually works is if they call for anything, we get nothing. It’s really not that much different for what we got yesterday evening. We only got enough snow to dust the ground to where things are mostly white, but not really enough for it to be enjoyable—just a mess. But since the temperatures have been below freezing for the past few days, it was just right for the snow to melt on the roads and then refreeze to make them icy. It’s not really at all what we were expecting, we were expecting a few inches of snow, but it was still enough for work to be canceled today.
I’ve always heard my parents talk about something called Blackberry Winter, but just assumed that maybe it was just a real southern term to describe something that technically doesn’t exist. But apparently it’s a real thing.
Oldtimers also knew that blackberries (Rubus fruticosus) need a cold snap to set buds on the blackberry canes, so as sure as night follows day, there will be a cold snap when the blackberries bloom, called Blackberry Winter. Source
I was surprised to find out that it’s an actual term and was even used on the news to describe the recent cold spell that we’ve had, which I dislike very much by the way.
For over the past week, it’s seemed like we’ve had nothing but rain in my area. Hopefully we’ve had enough recently to satisfy the weatherpeople’s craving for rain, since they are usually saying “we’re in the need of some precipitation.” I assumed with it being mid December, once the rain passed we’d be hit with the cold. And today it definitely happened.
When I arrived at work this morning I checked the temperature. It was 18° outside with a windchill of 4°! That’s the kind of cold that feels like it cuts you in half. As I’m writing, it’s 25° with a windchill of 18°, so not quite as bad as this morning. The crazy part is that the end of the week and Saturday is supposed to be in the 50s & 60s!
The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.
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