Odd Weather and This and That

It feels as if the World has gone topsy-turvy. El Nino has changed the weather in many areas...it has certainly changed ours.

I went to do errands in town yesterday.  At every stop, I was asked how I liked the weather. The people I spoke to about our warm temperatures looked confused...not sure as to how they felt about it.


Winter in the Cariboo is usually very cold.  Last year, temperatures dipped to -40C here on my deck...this year, temperatures are usually in the range of -5C overnight to 8C during the day. It's warm, folks!

I haven't worn my down jacket much this Winter. Warm hats and gloves...well, I'm not even sure where they are. I keep waiting for the Cold to hit...but each day is warmer than the last.


These record-breaking warm temperatures are not good news for the Winter Olympics down in Vancouver. They will be making Snow in large quantities before the competitions begin on Cypress Mountain within the next couple of weeks...Mother Nature does not look as if she will grace the Mountain with natural Snow, if the long range weather forecasts are correct.

Animals are confused as well, as is the Plant World. Bear, who is usually holed up in some warm and dry cave in January, has decided to awaken. And he smells really bad...even I, with a stuffed up nose, caught his scent the other day.

I hear crashing through the bush at night. Moose has decided the Willows must be ready for browsing, with the sudden, uncommon warmth. Every time I let the Dogs outside, there is something for them to chase...whether it be Bear, Moose, or Deer. It's a very good thing there is a fence. I doubt I would even have Dogs without it, considering the size of some of the Animals they chase. The fence gives them a very false sense of security.


There are many, many Birds about...far more than there are even on Spring days. With the nattering of the abundant Squirrel and the chirping of Birds, around here one could think one was visiting a Bird sanctuary.

And the Plant World has chosen to allow their buds to swell, has chosen to believe the unusual warmth will last. If I were a shrub, I'm positive I would want to believe Winter was over as well. Yet the temperatures at night go well below freezing, leaving Ice sheets behind.


But Sun, with its golden, loving rays, melts everything during the day...One can hear the dripping rhythm of melting Ice throughout the daylight hours.  It makes me think I am living close to an overflowing, babbling Brook.


I want to say Spring will be early this year, I want, at the very least, to start seedlings. But I feel convinced it is too early...it must be too early. Winter will not give up this easily...will he? I feel confused and convinced...a strange way of being.


The very oddness of the weather keeps me unsettled. Winter is not supposed to be this way. Yet, this year, it is.


To keep my mind off the should I's, will I's, can I's, I resolve to ignore the strangeness and go on with day-to-day living. I have applied for Hospice training, with an interview slated for next week. Wish me luck...not everybody will be accepted for the programme.


And then there are eye appointments, dentist appointments, etcetera, etcetera. I recently had my hair cut...this, in itself, keeps my mind off the weather as I try for some semblance of neatness and easy care.


Life.  It goes on regardless of odd weather patterns. What will be, will be...and all the angst in the World about freezing plant life will not change it.

But I have the need to wonder about something.


What will Summer be like in this El Nino year?