Dear Crabby,
The first day of winter is still six weeks away, what happened to fall?
Sincerely, Seasonally Confused
Dear Seasonally Confused,
Just a couple weeks ago, I was giving advice on how to enjoy fall. I was basing that advice on the premise that fall would be here. Of course, you can still partake in those activities, but it does seem we lost fall somewhere. Perhaps Halloween scared it away. On the other hand, maybe winter paid fall off so winter could come early.
The best part of living in a state with four distinct seasons is that we can sometimes get all four in the same week. I remember a spring season a few years ago when we were going along nicely, spring jackets, mild temperatures and wham, out of nowhere we had an 80-degree day! People we’re riding their bikes, running, cutting grass … then, by the end of the week we had an 8-inch snowstorm. Yup, we can get all the seasons in a week. Back in 1816, we had the year without a summer; Snow in June, crops failed, tough times. Then in 1877-78, we skipped winter altogether. We invented refrigeration because we could no longer count on blocks of ice to keep our food cold. However, I think most people would prefer to skip winter rather than summer.
I’m a skeptic when it comes to global warming, but I sure say climate change is real – when the climate can change that many times in seven days – it must mean something. Everyone knows that hot air rises. That explains why the ice at the South Pole is growing and Greenland is finally becoming green. Not sure the scientists would follow my logic and it doesn’t explain where our nice fall season went.
Mother Nature has a sense of humor. You’re correct; we do have six weeks left of fall. Fall may just be in hiding or on vacation. I’m sure it will return well rested and with normal temperatures to share before the real winter arrives. Until then bundle up, bring out the snow shovels, and re-read my column on how to enjoy November.
Sincerely, Dear Crabby
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