Hello Sunshine !
We were driving around town yesterday and I mentioned to Mr B how spring is so darn messy. He quickly reminded me that spring is still two months away. I guess I forgot since I’ve had to forgo my winter boots for spring boots on more than one occasion.
Plus, I get all excited reading Blogs of friends in the south, who’s rose bushes are beginning to grow and garden pots are happily basking in the sun with new flowers. My friend PJ is already getting her seeds organized 🙂 So, while we’re beginning to enjoy some mild days, the reality in the north is we could very well see a couple more major snow storms. Signs of spring are far more subtle in my neighbourhood. First you might see a little grass peeking out along a sidewalk.
Then a little oasis of lawn might appear under the boughs of your large garden trees.
If you look really, really close (and make a hopeful squint) you might actually see a few blades of green grass.
These moments can be fleeting and today we’re back to -7 C or 19 F. Still, that’s plenty preferable to the record low for today. On February 18th, 1885 it was -41 C, yikes! Unfortunately, it’s bound to be like this for another couple of months. A few nice days followed by a number of cool days. No need to break out my garden gloves just yet 😦 It might seem like it’s almost spring but in reality, it’s almost winter.
Sigh–any day it’s warm enough I trade ’em, but . . . . not lately.
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It’s like anytime your weather is bad, our’s is fair. But we know it can change in a heartbeat here. Apparently cooling to -15 overnight again on Monday. Won’t be too long though, get in the starting blocks. It’s hard to tell in the city, when we lived at the late we knew because the geese showed up to nest.
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Some great shots there but a bit worrying for me. If you’re starting to think of spring then I have to start thinking of autumn and I’m nowhere ready for that yet!
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Ha, you’re right…never thought of that but we are opposites on the calendar for seasons. Not to worry too much, it’s -11 C today but with sunshine.
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We’ve had a strange week in terms of the weather. The almond blossom is now out and looking beautiful, but we had snow on a couple of days.
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Hi Clowie, how unusual to have trees blossoming and snow. I bet that’d make for some pretty pictures. You are well on the way to spring I guess! Thank you for popping by!
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I bought cross country skis a few years ago, and am trying to learn how to embrace winter. 🙂
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Good going Sheryl. We both have Xcountry ski’s and didn’t use them even once this year. They’re in our storage locker…….somewhere’s HA. Great exercise. We used them a lot at the lake of course because it was frozen for 5 months a year.
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There was ICE on my car this morning. Tomorrow, it will be in the 80s. I don’t pay attention to these things they call “seasons.”
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Wow, do you even own a scraper or do you just use a credit card? I would imagine there aren’t too many ‘seasons’ in Florida.
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I must admit, the winter photos are as lovely as the spring ones. Having said that, I feel like a total weather wimp because it’s in the 40’s here and I’m COLD. Last week we had a day or two when it was 60. It’s been sunny most days, too, so I can’t complain. And just yesterday I actually saw a single daffodil bloom in my yard! I got so excited I picked it (which I usually never do) and brought it inside where I have enjoyed it many times.
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It’s so funny that you picked your one daffodil, good for you Julia, it must be like a little ray of sunshine inside. I used to plant sweet peas on Buddy’s kennel and do the same thing. I had tons of lovely little bouquets inside and fewer and fewer outside. HA
Don’t feel too wimpy Julia. We only make it thru winter by a hair. I do my best to embrace it but I could easily do without it these days too.
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PS thank you for the compliment on the photo’s too xK
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Great pictures. We are all counting the days. But it does rain here more in the spring that the winter. I keep my eyes on the plant nurseries and the night temps at the same time. When it stops freezing at night, it’s spring as far as I’m concerned. Bring it on. I’m ready. 🙂
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Thank you Marlene, so nice of you to say.
I love spring rain, it washes all the winter muck away. We have to sand and salt the roads heavily here in the winter. Spring is a mud bog until it’s all freshened up with the rain.
I was saying to another reader earlier, We can get frost up to the end of may and maybe even snow in June. Though it melts fast, we usually don’t plant any pots until the first week of June. By then I’m crazy and buy everything I see at the garden center…LOL
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We go from snow / sleet to 50 degrees in a 24 hour period! Weird … I can’t wait to trade my winter gloves for riding gloves!! (I love the picture of the bridge)
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Thank you Laurie, The Highlevel Bridge is almost 100 years old. It opened in June 1913 and still carries traffic daily. A street car runs on the very top in the summer month’s. I actually get a little dizzy walking across but try not to look down. Your weather sounds par for the course. I don’t know what’s normal anymore LOL
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Thanks for the mention Boomdee 😉 Spring will soon be here but I know exactly what you mean about wanting it to come quicker! Your third photo made me smile as it looks just like your avatar picture in the sidebar!
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I thought the exact same thing about the avatar and her shadow in the photo!
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Ha, you gals are really on the ball. Thank you for noticing the little things. I might have to get a summer outfit for my DesignerGal once the weather warms up. 😀
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😀 Welcome! Hey, good one PJ…I never even noticed that but you are right…flared plants and long hat and jacket…HAHA, good eye my dear. It wasn’t warm today at all. Or maybe the warm days make these days feel colder? I don’t know but I’m over it….HA.
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PS Thanks for the pingback.
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Mwwwaaa! xoK
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You live in such a beautiful city. I love all these photos. I can’t wait to visit one day and walk across the bridge. I love that you include your tiny feet/shoes in so many of your posts.
I think you may have blogged about it once, a ‘these shoes are made for walking’ theme. Love it.
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That’s so nice to say, thank’s Alys. We love it most in the summer. The river valley goes on and on. Great for walking or biking. We’ll hike you around one day and we’ll take pictures of our feet LOL.
I did write a blog about foot photo’s, HA. Good memory. I guess it’s easier to look down then up. I know, we should put our feet in the air and get a palm tree in the pic…..:D Got my passport photo done today…..I didn’t like it much. Thankfully no one see’s it much. HA
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Feet in the air with palm trees! You’re brilliant.
Hurray for passports, Boo for passport photos. I think the problem with those pics is that they make you look flat and one dimensional. I’m sure your picture turned out better than you think (we’re our own worst judge with pics of ourselves) but I know how must of us feel about passport photos and DMV pics.
I look forward to that hike one day. Mwaaaa
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Well thanks for the encouragement, but I knew it was a bust when she sent me to the makeup department because I was too shiny (just got it done at our drugstore). Oh yes it’s right up there with my drivers…another keeper (that’s sarcastic HA)
Shall I bring walking shoes to San Jose Alys? Will we fit that in? I’m dedicating this week to booking everything. I’m so confused. Jim usually does it all.
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Yes! Walking shoes for sure. We’re going to try and fill up your days with fun, fun, fun, though selfishly I would love to keep you for a month so we could just sit and gab away.
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Clapping like a maniac now 😀 I love walking. I think it was the first year Jim and I were together, we took a holiday to LA, he wanted to go to Disneyland, which really wasn’t my thing (it was your spring break, bananas). So the next day he said, “we’ll do something you want to do”, I had him walk like 3 miles to an antique mall, he was wearing the wrong shoes and had a giant blister….ooops 😀
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Ouch! Shoe blisters are the worst. I mostly own comfy shoes these days, due to neck and back problems. Even my dress up shoes have low heals.
I want this trip to be full of things you want to do so lay it on me. The biggest treat for me is simply having you here.
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I find myself still buying shoes I can fall off of…LOL, I get lonely down at everyones elbows.
I feel like I’ve stumbled into a lovely dreamland. Thank you my dear, you are just a doll for inviting us. We are super excited. I’ll update you in an email tonight. xox
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Hurray! Can’t wait.
Lonely down at everyone’s elbows. You crack me up. I on the other hand find myself stooping down.
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-7C? It’s practically a t-shirt weather, lol. I crave summer!
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I know, isn’t that so true, LOL. I’ve been zipping around in a corduroy blazer today, I’m so sick of my winter jacket. Will the weather be nice when you travel home?
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It’s generally much warmer there so I keep my fingers crossed for some nice weather 🙂
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Great comparative photos… really nice!
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Hi Kerri, thank you so much. We do a lot of walking in the River Valley both summer and winter. We’re really lucky to have miles and miles of trails in Edmonton easily accessible from downtown. We actually stopped at a yummy bakery on the way home for a snack. We went 11 km on that day…I was beat. LOL.
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Well believe it or not…we don’t have snow but I wore flannel pjs and socks to bed last night living in Florida…isn’t this weather crazy?
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LOL, I love flannel jammies. They’re a staple here. I got some with Aqua Penguins for Christmas and the dryer lint comes out Aqua…..saving for a project I picked up at Gardening Nirvana. Alys made a wreath with her’s for the birds in the spring to make nests all soft and fluffy. Has it been chilly down there?
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We’ve been in gardening gloves with industrial secateurs for over a month now 😉 I should explain that we’re pruning 1.5 hectares of vines. Real gardening should be starting now but it’s a race against time with the vines as we’ve got to finish before they burst into growth. You obviously get used to your longer winters with so much snow – hard to imagine in southern Europe. What length growing season do you have? Great mirror images!
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Oh wow 1.5 hectare’s, I guess that’s about 4 acres? Are you growing grapes for wine? I’m convinced that winter was longer this year since it started mid October, which is very early. We are in Zone 3/4 in Edmonton Alberta. You might plant your annuals out the first weekend in June and we normal get a hard frost by the 2nd or 3rd weekend in October. Most will empty their gardens and planters by the end of September.
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ps, thanks so much for enjoying the photo comparisons 😀 and your comment!
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Great photos, especially that last shot of the bridge. Chicago weather is still toying with our heart strings, but the winter has been very mild. Still, I am very much looking forward to spring when the city really comes alive.
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Thank you Will and I’m with you. There’s so much more going on during the summer months. Edmonton actually has been named ‘The Festival City’ by other Canadians…there’s so much to see and do all summer. Winters are just the days between summer and summer HA. December was insane on the weather but so far February has been like Chicago, mild. 😀
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Well….. after getting dumped on (again) with about 9″ of snow over the weekend, I am definitely dreaming Spring, SCREAMING for it’s arrival so I can put away my new winter boots for a pair of flip flops. I am throwing up the white flag in surrender on winter and hope for Springs arrival soon!
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OH no Val, that sounds like the pits! LOL, white flag….we know where that’s coming from. I get all hopeful on the sunny bright days when things are melting. Then before you can turn around, it snow’s again. In fact, right this very moment it’s coming down very lightly. I’m with you, bring on the flip flps!! Thanks for visiting, don’t get lost in a snowdrift xK
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The sun is actually out here today and we reached over 40 degrees after dealing with minus 20 for the last few days. It’s like a heat wave! Bring on the flip flop season already!
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Wa-who, that is a heat wave. WOW 40 and -20….craziness. Hard to know what to wear with this weather. I actually leave my aqua flip flops out all winter and be-bop around the house in them, but they need some sun soon 😀
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All I know is that I am coming to kidnap those adorable aqua sneakers you have! Ever since I saw them – – I want, want, want them! 🙂
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LOL, you’ll have to catch me first….which might be easy since I sometimes fall down when I try to run fast 😀 I bet when the summer stuff hits the store you will find some or these ones are cute, you can shop on line too…I can see you skipping along in these sweet cheeks 😀
http://www.converse.com/#/products/Sneakers/ChuckTaylor/136714C
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Ooooooh, thanks for the link! These are so adorable! I guess it would be easier to order these than to try to chase you down and rip them off your feet! (giggles) 🙂
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Chasing, giggles more chasing….sounds like a game with Nikita….LOL 😀
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LOL Do you like to be tickled behind the ears too?
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Gulp…….nope…I might have to run faster LOL
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I have traded winter dreams for spring dreams. Is that close enough?
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😀 that’s absolutely awesome, I’m thinking like you.
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