One word to describe spring in Minneapolis: craptacular.
To paraphrase Lileks, it’s the visual equivalent of licking a brick. The snowbanks on the side of the roads begin to erode from the inside, creating ugly, gray grime-slush sculptures. Enormous, dirty puddles form at every corner due to the melting, dirty snow. Snow melts off of lawns, seeping onto the sidewalks just in time for an overnight freeze, transforming the sidewalks into icy deathtraps. Mud, dirt and sand everywhere, too warm to be bracing, too cold to be comforting. Then we get 2 beautiful 75 degree days before we head ass-first into godawful heat & humidity.
Been a glorious last three weeks here in the Bay Area. Best early spring in memory. Sunny days, slight breeze, high-70’s to mid-80’s where I hang out ( not to hot, not to cold ). Rains are recent enough everything is still spring-green and flowers are blooming everywhere. My bizarro new schedule ( 2 p.m. - midnight, Sat-Tues ) gives me three weekdays off and has been leaving me feeling at loose ends. So with the perfect weather such an immense temptation I’ve been hanging out a lot in local parks, birdwatching, sauntering, and generally soaking up the spring ambiance. Went to a half-empty Cliff House in SF today to get a couple of afternoon cocktails and gaze at the unblemished blue sky over the perfect Pacific Ocean.
Fine time to be alive :).
More sympathies to you poor shlubs in the frost-belt :D.
You all are hogging the coolth! It’s been over ninety here for a week and if it’s this hot this early, people will start bursting into flame sometime in late June.
Seriously, sharing is caring. Spot me a couple snowflakes at least.
We’ve been enjoying 70-80 highs with very little humidity here in the deep south. Today I cleaned up two flower beds and planted the impatiens. This year I chose all white and they are very pretty!
We also cleaned out the goldfish pond in anticipation of new and improved goldfish! Our last two fish died last fall when we overfilled with fresh water. The pond was sort of icky anyway, as I’d let the munchkins catch crawfish and minnows from the ditch last year and put 'em in the goldfish pond. I was sad to see the goldfish go Originally they were those itty bitty cheapy ones you buy from Walmart, but they’d lived for 3 years and were very large, tempting the cats to take a swipe at them occasionally.
Here in Sydney, Australia we’re seeing the last of Summer and drifting into Autumn. The weather this afternoon is a pleasant 25, and I’m planning to go to the local pool for a swim on my way home from work.
There’s still some snow on the ground (and more to come, I’ve heard), but it’s been a bit warm lately so there’s a lake in my driveway. In the mornings, it’s an ice rink. I hate it. I hate early spring.
askeptic - surpisingly enough, there aren’t many crocodiles wandering around in suburban Sydney. So I should be safe going for my swim. But I’ll have to keep a lookout for all of those spiders and snakes…
Spiders? You aint seen nothing. We have these spiders called Daddy Long Legs and man are they viscious. (don’t know if you have them Down Under, so I’ll tell you I am just kidding they are harmless)(Should I have said Up Over?)
But seriously, Steve (the Crocodile Hunter) Irwin says that “Crikey, she’s a beauty, that Salt Water Croc, she is, but watch out! She’ll get ya, mate” Oh never mind.
Can you help resolve an argument? Some folks around this side of the world are wondering if water drains in a different direction down there (do to the corioles effect) Why don’t you go fill your sink, and I will go fill mine, then we can compare notes and resolve the issue without resorting to all sorts of confusing math formulas. Deal?
Ah, spring. It’s here – I saw two robins yesterday and Massey’s frozen custard stand is now open. However, there is still snow on the ground and it’s still cold.
What’s spring like where I am? Well, here in East Tennessee, the trees are budding, the temperature is rising, jackets are being put away and the like. I generally have one consistent reaction to spring here. Achoo!
Spring in Norway is a little bit of heaven. Green comes on in a rush, everything grows so fast you get the feeling that if you sat still long enough you’d see it, hear it. Little things become almost ceremony: The First Outdoor Beer of Spring, My First Day in Sandals, The First Blue Anemones To Bloom. The garden (or balcony) becomes an additional room, children move outside to play, adults move outside to talk, whole families eat meals together out in the sunshine. As spring matures into fullness, the sun rises earlier and earlier and sets later and later, until by the beginning of summer there is hardly any darkness left at all. Truly a magical time.
And not quite here yet, but I can wait a little more.
Well, it was sleeting on my way into work today, so all you southern folks can just go FUCK yourselves. Seriously. And take that bottle of sunscreen with you on your way to Smugville, would ya?
In addition, during the day the melted snow pools on the roads and seeps into cracks and crevices. At night it freezes and expands creating potholes that will swallow whole vehicles (or at least damage your car’s front end if you don’t swerve in time).
As the snow melts down to grass level, you get the aroma of 6 months of bio mass that has been in suspended animation. While walking through a residential neighbourhood, you can tell where the dogs live because there will be the unmistakable stench of melting feces every few houses.
It’s not worth washing the car because it will only be clean for 30 seconds.
Well, I used to live in SoCal and I do miss the weather! Here in Atlanta spring is in full swing because my eyes have begun to itch and my sinus headaches have started. Didn’t have allergies 'till I moved here…
All I can say is I hope that the 27th is warm and not rainy!
California, with the sole exception of the Sierras (where, to give credit where due, askeptic lives), doesn’t have Spring. To have Spring, you have to have Winter. You know, cold, snow, ice, lots of nasty wind, etc. Winter in California means wearing a sweater while you golf in January, unless you are from Sack-o’-tomatoes, in which case Winter means never seeing the sun thanks to endless days of fog, which askeptic probably gets to look down on from above.
Winter in San Diego is a complete oxymoron.
Spring in NW Ohio means confused robins wondering why the hell they are rummaging through three inches of snow for food just a week after 55 degree weather.
Originally they were those itty bitty cheapy ones you buy from Walmart, but they’d lived for 3 years and were very large, tempting the cats to take a swipe at them occasionally.
