Completely, totally, and utterly off-topic, and inserted only because you say you’re in Holland. I was recently introduced to the phrase “like a five-legged sheep”, and I’m now trying to find out what someone in The Netherlands means when they use it.
It’s trying valiantly to snow here near Sea-Tac Airport. The rain doesn’t want to give up its turf though. The snow occasionally makes chunky-flaked inroads but the rain keeps beating it back.
Well, the snow seems to have won out for the time being, against great odds, but the temperature is about 34 degrees so its not sticking to anything yet.
Tikki, I’m south of you in Puyallup. It’s snowing gangbusters here and it’s sticking. It’s been snowing since I rolled my ass out of bed nearly an hour ago, so I don’t know if it was snowing beforehand.
Taters, It’s much thicker now and is just starting to stick to the fence tops and roof of the carport. A squirrel was on my outside shelf under the shelter of the balcony looking none too happy about having to forage for peanuts in this weather. I tossed him some in a dry spot he could get to instead of under the camellia bush like I usually do.
Edited to add: Oh, now it’s sticking to both camellias and the azalea and the patio table. Funny, the temperature doesn’t seem to have gone down though.
I have heard “zoeken een schaap met vijf poten”, looking for a five legged sheep which means spending a great deal of time/money/energy seeking what does not exist. I have also heard “een schaap met vijf poten verlangen”, to want a sheep with five legs, which means something close to avariciousness, wanting more that in reasonable or warranted by the situation.
If I had heard “like a five legged sheep” I would conclude that it comes from the same source material (dutch expressions are often oblique references to an original saying/proverb/image) and would assume it meant rare to the point of probable nonexistence, or something you can’t have. But my husband says it means all that plus somebody who really can do/has done what was previously thought to be impossible.
It finally stopped snowing here about an hour or so ago. What did stick is melting fast. It never stuck on the roads, but our grass and gardens were white.
I seem to remember it snowing on April 1st, just a few years ago, Cervaise.
I can’t remember exactly what year it was, though.
Hmm, I’m concluding from this thread that seasons must proceed with more consistency and regularity in North America than they do here. For while snow, especially snow that settles, is becoming something of a novelty, wintry spells can occur any time between November and April inclusive. At this time of year it is quite normal to have mild spring-like weather one week followed by a very cold snap the next week. The way you’re all talking, though, it sounds like once the snow season is over, that’s it, no more is supposed to fall.
Still snowing here in the Marysville area…Big Flakes… I about had to drag the pug out to do his business once he saw it was snowing. He is a funny little dog. Both dogs are now hunkered up in front of the fireplace. I think I’m going to make a snowman holding a bouquet of daffodils… Ha
Snow season??? It is to laugh; we don’t really have a snow season, at least here Western Washington in the Puget Sound area. Our winters usually consist of rain, wind, and the occasional hail storm.
I remember white winters with much regularity from the 70s. By the eighties, snow that stuck around was a rare sight. Conditions have to be “just right” for snow to fall and stick around here.
That being said, it can snow in the mountains during the summer here. It’s happened to me on a couple of occasions.