Webbready

I have not written anything in this blog for more than three long years, and though there have been changes, more remains the same than I would like to admit.

Soon it will be spring, but I am grateful that aside from a couple of snowfalls, this winter has not been rough at all in terms of weather. There was one major snowfall, but for the most part it was warm and wet, with rain coming from the sky instead of snow.

I could use more winters like this in terms of weather.

At last winter has arrived. It is too late for the sub-zero temperatures, thankfully, and I am grateful that this year, the old man has been merciful.

This year, Halloween was a warm day, and a rainy, windy one.  It was one of those days which precluded a plummeting of temperatures, an authumn day that starts out warm but cools with the onslaught of water from the sky.  I thought to myself that day came a few weeks early, as it was not usually until the middle of November when we get the rain that beats all of the leaves off the trees. Because it was early, many trees retained their leaves that refused to turn any color but brown before falling.

Today is a repeat, and the day before a hard, cold rain comes in the night to shake the rest of the stubborn leaved from the trees. I was in such a rain once, during a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game at Heinz Field.  At first, the night was unusually warm for fall, but then it started to rain and the cold rain seeped through my layers of clothes and my covering. Even retired Chris Hoke commented that his toes were freezing.

The Steelers won that game, but I will never forget that rain, as it was the sign that fall was a transition to winter more than a season unto itself.

As I write this, it is 84 degrees outside and humid. At this time of year, it is usually crisp and cool, but I have not yet even had to put on a jacket since the first half of the year. Even though the leaves are falling from the trees, the weather is warm and I may have to turn on the air conditioning tonight.

Tomorrow will be the last warm day of the year and then the temperatures will plummet beyond the reach of sandals, shorts, and sleeveless shirts, and I will have to start putting socks back on and wearing jackets, then coats, and then boots. Winter will be here soon. I am thankful that once again, summer has taken its sweet time to say goodbye.

The air conditioner blares in the background summer is here, but this year I am not happy about it. I do not want fall or winter to arrive just yet, but at the same time, a summer spent in one spot is just a warmer version of spring.

Perhaps there will be more in the future that will draw my gaze forward.

Spring is in the air, and the barren trees have begun to burst with life. Although the weather of this winter was milder than most, temperature-wise, March was consistently cool. I do not mind the cool, as I have too many tasks ahead of me.

My nose is fond of itching when I go outside, which puzzles me, as it is early for my allergies. Perhaps I grow more allergic as I grow older.

For the past few weeks, there has been a decent temperature in the air, where rain dominated instead of snow, and it was warm on New Year’s Eve.

The forecast calls for snow and for winter to make its grand second act in a few days. I can only hope that I make it through this weekend warm, cozy, and healthy.

It is not my imagination. After the first third of October in which it was warm enough to require an air conditioner, the temperatures plummeted to lows far too early for the time of year. We had snow in October, and snow that stuck to the ground and accumulated in November.  In December, the first tentative snows have been replaced by January and February-like squalls, and I begin to mutter as another season of shoveling begins full blast, without seemingly a sputter.

I feel completely robbed of the 60 degree days that were supposed to be a prelude to the end of the season.

It is August 31, 2018, and the leaves are floating downward as the trees are turning colors rapidly.

Despite the heat, I am now certain there will be an early fall.