I swear it wasn't me! Last week I was hunting in shirtsleeves. The ten day outlook for me now has temps ranging from 33-9*. Blech!

Right before I went to my parents' house, my brother and his buddy stayed with me two nights on their way to the Notre Dame/Army football game (ND fans) and filled one of my little galvanized tins with their nasty cigarette butts on the outside patio. I neglected to empty it because I loathe smelly ashtrays. Then it rained and I had butt soup. Now I have a butt-cicle. Only now will I dare go empty that nasty-ash thing... in a few days... So I guess the cold is good for something!

I'm still marveling that I was enjoying (delicious) baby greens from my garden on Monday! I s'pose it'll be kaput for the year now... unless the snow we're getting tonight insulates it through the cold snap. (This is just a snap, right?) :o(

I miss the sun. I can deal with the cold (once I get used to it), but look forward to the return of daylight. I hope my husband's imminent (and delayed) flight out of Chicago doesn't get canceled tonight. This is one of those nights where the best thing he has to offer me in bed is BTUs!

What are you fussing about?
Try a bit of my reality.
Actually it got up to 15F today.

Ian

{{gwi:200438}} {{gwi:200440}}

Suzanne will be waking up to snow in the morning.
We'll have lower temps and rain, I hope the storms stay away.

Andie, I talked to my grandson in Houston today, he said it
was 40 there and he said there is ICE in Dallas.

Ian, don't even think about sending that white stuff down here.

I'm afraid it's coming all the way from the Pacific NW if I'm to believe the weather people. We've had bitterly cold weather and snow, unusual for us...to back to back batches actually. It's warmer here today and the snow's melting. That cold front sure moved fast.

Andie, We too in central AL have had a lovely long Fall...our trees are gloriously colored now. I still have the Purple Lablab vine blooming. Our forecast is for 50's daytime, around 30 degrees at night for the next few days, so it won't be such a drastic change as yours. I'm ready for a little nip in the air...josh

It's 70 here right now, the weather man just said it will
be 39 in the morning. :0(
Oh well, i've been watching a herd of Impalas romp and play
on the Africam.

It was 68* at 545a. A light, misty rain is falling. Last night's forecast said the rain wouldn't be here until 1-3p, but apparently the weather fronts don't listen to the meteorologists. NOAA advises that we can expect a high of 74 by 8a, occasional thunderstorms during the day, winds of 20mph with gusts to 55mph (that should take care of the few leaves left on the oaks), and a low in the 40's tonight (30's on Saturday night). I can handle wet and windy, it's ice I have no tolerance for - Ian's weather is an example of why I'll never move northwards. Ian obviously lives entirely to near to the Arctic.

Forecasters here are saying that it may reach 70 here (it's 62 now) before it all comes crashing down around lunchtime. I've never seen my gardens so confused. The hostas have died back, but the zonal geraniums are still showing all their greenery. And although the saffron crocuses have shoved their leaves through the still-blooming sweet alyssum, there's nary a bloom in sight but the snow drops right next to them are merrily blooming away, and have been since Thanksgiving.

Sounds like I'd better put on my wet weather gear and get the last of the fall cleanup done this morning. I'm not likely to get another chance this side of spring.

Here in Pa near the coast it's going to be a weird 72 and then the cold temps hit tonight. However,after seeing ian's post..I'll just shut up.

He didn't make it home, did he Michelle? All the flights coming here from the midwest and going to the midwest were canceled by 3 or so.

Yes, it was beautiful and great weather for all to walk a couple of blocks from the hotel to our site yesterday, but dinner was rainy and I dread seeing icicle covered people in a couple of minutes. -25 degrees? I know why I live in Nashville. WHEWEEE Ian, stay warm.

It's been warm and sunny the last two days which helped as Jimmy and I walked 2 miles each day on the boardwalk. We end our walk sitting on a bench facing the inlet watching the boats drive to the end of the inlet at the ocean and then drift quickly back in the inlet. The fisherman are trolling. They go back and forth, back and forth quickly due to the strong current on an inlet. Today will reach 70 with T-storms and winds from the SSW at 22mph. It's the easterly winds off the Atlantic that are formidable. The wednesday before Thanksgiving the wind off the ocean literally moved me off my feet and it took all my strength to open the door at a store. The ten day outlook isn't so bad as it looks to be sunny and mid forties to low fifties.

The link below is a live cam from 7th street at the boardwalk pointing southeast. In the far left of the cam pic you can see the pier. Just south of the pier is the inlet where Jimmy and I were married in October. The boardwalk runs about 35 city blocks and the sea wall seen in this view is only built in this small section of the boardwalk. Many people pay to have a memorial plaque on these benches seen in the cam pic. Since Lindsey worked at 2nd street and the boardwalk this summer, Jimmy and I will have one installed at that location. For the most part and like I said, no sea wall for the majority of the boardwalk so the benches are back to back. We'll pick a bench facing the ocean, I think.
~di

Here is a link that might be useful: web cam at 7th& boardwalk, ocean city, MD

It was 20F here this morning when I took the dog out, which is positively frigid for Texas. And Ian I've lived through those below zero temperatures when I lived in Chicago. LOL! That's why I live in Texas!

Listening to the Weather Channel this morning (MTV for the over-40 set as DH calls it), I see the Midwest is a mess. Ice now being covered with lots of snow in Chicago & a bad ice storm in St. Louis that has left almost 350,000 customers without power - no fun AT ALL!

We're glad we stayed south of the ice line here & just had cold rain. However, my lettuce plants look like they're pretty much toast this morning.

I don't guess that y'all want to hear about the fall tomatoes that I have ripening out in the back yard. I suspect that they are just a weird fluke and the cold will come and ruin them, but it has been fun thinking about fresh, home grown tomatoes in December!

Agnes puffin - that hurts!!! I've advised local folks for years to wrap their mater plants in row cover so they can enjoy fresh until New Year's... for some reason, a couple weeks ago, DH "helped" clear the garden --- right down to removing the row covers and shredding the tomato plants. A couple days ago he was complaining about not having any fresh tomatoes for his salad... all I could do was look at him. Some things leave me wordless.

Rob, he did make it home last night, and I was thankful. If they'd have canceled his flight, he'd have rented a car and driven the three hours himself. The worst of things seems to be south and west of us right now. We have a dusting of snow, but its those tight tiny dry little flakes.

Both my dogs have been driving me nuts. They love snow, and beg to be let out more than usual so they can zoom and chase one another through it. This surprises me in the greyhound, but it must be because they can run without overheating...

Di, what a beautiful boardwalk! Nobody was there when I peeked at it, but I'll look for you next time I do. I can understand why this would be a good place to memorialize Linz. It's clear your family is grounded by this patch of water.

Andie, you live in the warm(er) part of Texas! Our temps yesterday were 16F with windchill of -20F around 0900. I think it did warm up to about 26F. We had the ice and snow, and as usual the WIND. Waist high drifts in some places at our house - lots of schools closed (including the univ. where I work). The lightning on Wed. night during the beginning of the major dump of snow was absolutely beautiful - pink lightning!

The areas east and north of us really got the worst of it. Everyone be safe and stay warm.

Mary

It was 48 this morning and it's still 48. Sunny, clear and all in all a beautiful day.

Well, you're right Jan, we got a nice storm yesterday. Conditions were very dangerous, and luckily Mr. Suzanne has been watching all the survivor shows on the Discover Channel, just in case he wanted away from the homestead!

The storm has passed and it's a beautiful, sunny winter's day. The snow is blindingly white. I haven't checked yet to see if it's the "sparkling diamond white" variety that makes a moonlit night so magical.

You've heard, I'm sure, that Eskimos have something liek 50 words for snow. That involves denoting which type of snow it is - slushy, gritty, sparkling diamonds, fluffy, etc.

I don't Andie - when I lived in Texas I found the continuous cold, rainy dampness to be much more bone chilling that a cold, crisp winter day in the midwest.

Unfortunatley for me we sold the snowmobile at the end of last season, so there's no flying over empty cornfields at 70 mph! Now, THAT'S FUN....and yes we dress in clothing that leaves you toasty warm even at below zero temps.

Suzanne, you're right about those bone-chilling wet days down here, especially when teh wind is howling. Luckily, those don't last too long, and soon we're back to out "winter"days with a high of 55 or 60.

Now when I'm "freezing" when it's 35, I wonder at the fact that when I was a kid I was outside all the time in the winter. Now when I go back up north in teh winter & have to kick the dirty, frozen snow/slush off the wheel wells of the car and have so many layers on that I feel like the kid brother in his snow suit in "A Christmas Story," I'm glad that my "winter coat" down here is usually a fleece jacket.

And, BTW, if we want to talk about snow, let's exchange memories of the Chicago blizzard of 1967.

Suzanne, you sold the Snow Mobile, sheesh, I was about to invite myself up there for a winter visit, you know how I LOVE the snow.

I'll bet you and Me. Suzanne didn't even take my advice and buy a Wovel.

Move south, woman, move south!!!

{{gwi:200441}}

Actually, I believe it was "Lord Luv a Duck, move south woman!" ...... sound familiar Jan??

No wonder you make Gingerbread Houses, you're snowbound.

"Lord luv a duck, Suzanne, i'd freeze to death up there"

Jan:

a) That picture you found is insane.

b) In spite of your preconceptions, I believe you, in particular, would love the speed, freedom, and power that riding a snowmobile affords. Seriously.

c) You would not freeze to death. We both know that a silly snow storm is no match for a Southern Woman. If you ever do decide to come up North during snow-season, I promise Izzy'll be well trained enough by the time you get here to pull you around on a set of skis! ;o) You'll have a ball!

Jaz

Michelle, if you think for one minute that i'd get behind
Izzy pulling anything after seeing the look she gave you
for putting that harness on her, you are mistaken, lady.
She would have my behind wrapped around a tree before I
could say General Beauregard y'all.

I've no doubt that I would love to ride a snowmobile.
The speed would be one of the reasons. I wonder if those
things would glide over Pine Needles as well as they do snow. :0)

It got down to 34* tuesday night and the Santa Ana winds have been blowing on and off all week. That picture looks like fun for at least 5 min.