Well it looks as though we dodged the snow and ice. Got up and didn't see anything other than rain. Temps are only just reaching 40 F now. Very cold and damp. I did walk about in the garden to check the plants and no ice on anything so if it did snow/sleet during the night,it had to be very brief here. The sev's and ev's are not liking the temp change. Dormants are not skipping a beat and look as good as when they first emerged a few weeks ago. We shall see what happens in the long term. The butterfly bushes were toasted (not from heat) from the last dip we had a week ago. I'm not sure if they will set new leaves again. I'll need to check around on what the downside will be. All the leaves are wilted BUT amazingly, the lilac bush is leafed out and the bloom buds appear not to be affected. Same with our weeping cherry tree and the other ornamental cherry trees. They don't seem bothered as of yet. The wild lupine foliage is flattened down and forget about tulips this year. They are not going to bloom. Ugly twisted foliage. The lilies are not poking up yet. Maybe they died or just smart enough to stay hidden longer. Could those of you who are having the "warm" temps please send it north? I'd appreciate getting back into the 60's again...if possible. Julia

No, this isn't my first winter up here. I grew up in the Rochester area, and moved away five years ago, for Florida. I lived in Tampa for two years and loved the beaches there! I then moved over to the East Coast for the last three years. I lived in Palm Bay. I have to get used to this 50 degree weather DURING THE DAY! This was the weather that we might have in February at night! So why am I moving here? My family all live here and I really wanted to get back to a more natural cycle than Florida offered. I guess you can't take the New York out of me! So now I can learn to snowshoe near Lake Ontario, sample wine in the Finger Lakes, and see all of the fall foliage at Letchworth! In my Florida garden I had a beautiful Bismark palm, several foxtails, bottle, spindle, triangle, queen and teddy bear! I will have to try a needle palm here when I'm more settled as I adore the palms. Isn't there a book out on "Crape Myrtles Won't Grow Here--and other myths"?? I think I have to get this one! DGordon...let us know about your crape myrtle here! At least they offer more year round interest than the powdery-mildew prone lilacs. It's sad to say, but I'm not impressed with the look of the lilac plants this year. What variety did you buy? Christinpalm...I will have to look up that sabal palm in my books! I just think, even if it's a slow-growing palm and not a twenty foot tree, it will be interesting to have that in the garden here! Thanks guys Mark

Well,theres always northern california's SF bay area (here comes the speil!) It can be nice(even 70's) until mid Dec,then winter kicks in through Jan..pretty much 58h-45l or so,some rains. But,by Feb,the longer days bring back the nice 60's,even a few 70's, by April rains really slow and its sunny much more than not and then by mid May our mild bay breeze summers-75-80h, 55-59l kick in..and that lasts to November. RARELY do people use air here even though 15 minutes inland it can be scortching hot. The bay area is like an island in nor cal. So,you can grow all types of subtropicals together and all manner of high cloudforest species. Only the ultratropicals are out. So you can have Avocado,but not Breadfruit..and only people pleasant summer temps. You can get a great tan in San Jose at the south end of the bay..summers ave,a very nice 82h and 60l. I live here and biggest drawback is old home and small lot. I better buy a lotto ticket.

I am wondering if the original poster moved up here or no? I've lived in Canton and Potsdam. If you can't work for the colleges, it will be rough to get a decent job. Negative 40 in the winter at times but not cooler in the summer unless you get into higher elevation in the 'Dacks. Very inexpensive housing, good apartments are hard to find since all the college kids get them. Flat flat flat, unless you go up to Russell and all the little tiny towns at the foot of the mountains where it starts getting hillier. The Adirondacks have a nice feel to them but yes, there are very poor "North Country" people there. I don't know how "colonial" or "New Englandy" the towns are up there. Ogdensburg, Watertown and Massena are larger cities that have more things going on. I agree with previous posters that Corning/Painted Post is a nice area with culture and Big Flats has the mall and lots of shopping. There are smaller towns in between all the larger cities, everything is rural. Bath, Hammondsport, Penn Yan are great areas too. Hammondsport was awarded Coolest Small Town. The Finger Lakes Area is one of the most beautiful areas; the lakes, wineries, small town feel are wonderful. Houses on the lakes are very pricey but out in the country they are very reasonable. They HAVE to be because there are barely any jobs or opportunities here. Most people who own the lake houses have these as summer homes and travel from the big cities. Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Syracuse are larger and have more things available and you don't have to drive far to get back to the country with hills and farms. Actually between Buffalo and Rochester is a nice stretch of farms, farmer's markets, nice countryside. I grew up near Jamestown which is all the way west. Nice town but poor, again not many good jobs but there is a mall there, stores. Chatauqua Lake is also there and it's beautiful, as well as Chatauqua Institution which is well known for its summer cultural events. It's less than an hour to Erie, PA: lots of shopping, jobs and Lake Erie with beaches. A little east outside Jamestown are the Allegany Mountains which are neat. Anytime you are in rural areas, you will have hunting. Some people are so poor that they have to hunt to have food on the table. I hate hunting but it's something you just have to deal with here. Steuben County is extremely poor and there are trailers around, especially if you go way out into the countryside, but there are lots of nice houses too. Teens are always around, carrying on, but it's not a problem. Angelica is a sweet little town but you will have to drive a ways to get to a big store. Sometimes you just have to drive, visit and see how it makes you feel. You could always rent a house and then really travel all over to find the perfect spot. I haven't been to all of the towns that have been mentioned, but I never have felt the "New England" feeling in any of them. I have been to Lake Champlain but only once and just passing through so maybe it has more of that feeling.