The Lion Roars

Starting on Wednesday, March 7th Zach had 3 snow days in a row. He officially will have one less day of spring break. It brought to mind the October snowstorm we had about five years ago. With the same problem we had back then..........climate change.

The branches on trees and shrubs are soft most of the year. They slowly harden in the fall and are stiff for the winter. That is how they can withstand a foot of snow in winter without braking. Once it warms up, they soften again. They take their cues from the climate. But, when the climate is too warm for several days before it's supposed to be, they soften too soon. Then they can't handle it when the climate goes back to normal.

That October the branches hadn't hardened yet. So when we got a lot of snow, a lot of large limbs fell tearing down power lines, causing day long blackouts. Schools were closed for days and Halloween trick or treating was rescheduled for November 2nd.

That's what happened now. But, the reverse. We had two weeks of unusually spring-like weather. Multiple days in the 50s and 60s without dipping below freezing at night. I had a day in February where I wore short sleeves outside without a jacket or sweater! That's how warm in got! So, nature assumed it was almost spring. Flowers started to sprout, buds appeared on branches, and those same branches started to soften.

But, March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. We just have to suffer through a whole lot of lion first. That lion roared a lot this past week! Hence the foot of snow on Wednesday. That's after a snow/rain mix the Friday before.

We saw the flashing orange and yellow. A transformer had blown on a nearby street. We had a couple of brownouts then the oddest blackout. Some rooms in the apartment had power, some didn't. One room had power in odd places. Example, no power for the stove but the light switch a foot away to it's right worked! Among other oddities.

Thursday afternoon we got full power. However, we had a few brown outs since then. Thursday morning, still mostly in the dark, we packed to stay over at my parent's house. On Thursday evening I brought the stuff home and we stayed here instead.

Suddenly, something that looked OCD excessive proved smart! I insist on keeping several flashlights in key places around the apartment. Places were we are often nearby. That way, if we loose power, we don't have to travel far to get to a flashlight. Less risk for injury. My parents call it excessive. Josh and Zach find it helpful when looking under and behind things. I call it being safe!

Flashlight are kept next to the stove, on the pantry, next to the computer, on the filing cabinet by the tv, Zach's bed,  next to the toilet in the bathroom, and in our bedroom. I learned after this blackout to label which flashlight goes where. I also thought of a couple of more places to keep flashlights. No one got hurt getting to a flashlight!

But, we also had cabin fever. It wasn't safe to walk. The streets had been plowed by Thursday afternoon. Most of them. But, there were too many fallen power lines and large branches to be safe for walking. That's why we are still loosing power. Workers are still working on fixing them.

Josh was home with us on Wednesday. But, come Thursday, it's been just me and Zach. So, I took it as a sign from God when a friend called. He had noticed a missed call from me from a week ago. 4:30pm.............wanna come to dinner? It's just burgers on the George Foreman grill. He came and so did another friend. It turned out to be a fantastic night!

It's still 10 - 15 degrees colder then it was a couple of weeks ago. The days are in the low 40s but the nights are in the 20s. However, more days are windy then not windy and the wind makes if feel at least 5 degrees colder then the listed temperature.

 It's cold. Depressingly cold. We had a taste of spring. We want it back! We want all the snow melted and to see the buds again. We want to be in jackets not coats or even less!

March roars on. As usual. It won't calm down until the last week in March if recent history is any indication. Another 2 - 3 weeks of lion March. I don't know about you, but I want the 50s and 60s back!

But, the lion roars on.

These are the flashlights we have all over the apartment. I got them from Target, the grocery store, and Amazon. But, they are inexpensive, easy to find, durable, and I find to be just what we need.