Family, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

As the Seasons Turn

19 Comments

My father’s extended family hails from the north woods, so even though I grew up in St. Louis, I experienced the Minnesota/Wisconsin climate from an early age. When it was time to look at colleges I announced to my parents that I would only go to a college in Minnesota or Wisconsin.  When college/grad school was over for me and wasband, we hightailed it to the Twin Cities.  I’ve been here every since.

This morning, I noticed it was snowing at about 8 a.m. and my mood jumped up a couple of notches just seeing it. I love snow and cold.  Spring, summer and autumn are nice but winter is my season of choice.  I love visiting tropical locales but I don’t think I would happy in a place that didn’t have winter.

I took pictures all morning and even though I knew that snow in mid-October wouldn’t last, I was a little wistful when it stopped around noon.

Of course, this is seriously early for snow, so I didn’t start pulling out big sweaters and coats just yet. And I still wore my zorries to the gym and the grocery store!

What is your favorite seasonal transition? Have you transitioned to your winter clothes yet?

19 thoughts on “As the Seasons Turn”

  1. I’ve learned my lesson on waiting to slide the screens up and the storms down for the winter having struggled with freezing fingers to get the job done when the first serious cold front rolls in, so that’s done.

    Winter sweaters never get put too far away, but no heavy coat yet (again, it is never buried too deep).

    Flannel sheets will be deployed this week.

    And no Steve, no furnace yet (I did check the 10-day forecast and figured I could tough it out 😉 ).

    My primary indicator that winter is really coming is the cats deciding I am worth knowing for more than my bowl-filling skills.

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  2. That October snow just irritates me… once the crops are out (and especially when field work is done) then I’ll tolerate the snow better.

    Kelly is always cold. We have fleece blankets in the living room year round. Unless it’s 80 degrees, she’s cold and cuddled up under a blanket. So winter clothing for her is another layer that starts when it’s 70.

    My fall and spring jacket is the same as my winter jacket. Unless it’s less than maybe 10, then I have my ditch jacket. And I’ll add sleeves.

    Working on a production of ‘Barefoot in the Park’; a character says “For 35 I wear a coat. For 25–” he puts on a beret and dramatically wraps a scarf around his neck.

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  3. Favorite seasonal transition is being able to go without socks in (usually) May.

    I am a wimp – we’ve had the heat on for two weeks. I’ve brought up the first layer of jackets, the rest will wait. I’ve traded the summer clothes for turtlenecks and long sleeved things – this now requires a trip to the basement, as closet space is tight here.

    The garden is giving it up – as of this morning the green beans and peppers are done. There are carrots and beets to harvest. I’ll make sure to hand out laundry on these warm days this week, ’cause that’s almost over.

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    2. Waiting to turn on your furnace doesn’t make any appreciable difference anyway, as long as your thermostat is set to something reasonable—65 or so. If you want to be spartan about it you can set it to 62. When the fall days are sunny and mild and the temperature in the house is over 65 (or whatever), the furnace won’t do anything—just as if you had never turned it on at all. But when the temperature starts to seesaw, the thermostat will keep the temperature in your house level and as it gets colder, your furnace will run more often. Letting the house getcold and then turning on the furnace to catch up uses more energy than if you had maintained a constant temperature.

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        2. Well, the thought occurs… those Spartans lived in a Mediterranean climate, so I’m sure 62 was roughing it for them 😉

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  4. I love the first cold snap in September that signifies summer truly is over (no more 80+ degree days). Then I enjoy the gradual leaf-turning until the peak season (right around now in southern MN) before getting depressed about the wait for serious snow and ice so I can partake of my winter sports.

    My other favorite transition time is mid-May or so, when it seems every living thing is bursting with new life and the landscape is rife with a thousand shades of green (including my favorite–spring green–if you all remember your Crayola crayon colors. It’s that almost painfully bright light green that shows on young leaves.

    Chris in Owatonna

    PS– if anyone’s looking for a fun road trip this Saturday, twelve southern MN authors, including yours truly, will be selling and signing our books at the Interchange Wine and Coffee Bistro in downtown Albert Lea from 10-2. There’ll be a wide variety of genres from suspense/thrillers (Castle Danger) to mysteries, crime, memoir, children’s books, YA, romance, graphic novels, and more.

    The weather’s going to be sucky, so why not do something fun and different inside. It’s not too late to start shopping for you-know-what-time-of-year. 😉

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