Snow in April can't last, even in southeastern Michigan--the air and earth are warming, the number of daylight hours is getting longer every day and we're past the middle of April. The last frost is only a few weeks away. Anything that's up now can take whatever bad jokes Mother Nature throws at it (including snow), especially winter sown plants--they're tough as nails. It's been a very cold spring here in CT as well--I still need layers to work outside clearing winter's debris from the flowerbeds. Everything I grew last year via WS is up again: turtlehead, lupine, rudbeckia, agastache, penstemon, Siberian iris, daylily, ladybells, painted daisy, blackberry lily, butterfly bush, delphinium, Echinacea, Maltese cross, blanket flower, Montauk daisy, globeflower and more. My WS sprouts are waving at your WS sprouts and urging them to hang tough until this white stuff melts away.

Long day. Its finally stopped about 11PM. 12" here, and probably very close to that at National Airport. Still lots of wind and blowing and drifting, but the skies are now clear. Yesterday, up until about 4am it was a "warm storm" with temps around 32. Its been below 20F since about 8am here. The snow held and held and held on for longer than expected. This was definitely the storm of a lifetime, EVEN IF we had not had the 2 feet here last weekend, just the sheer conditions this storm produced, especially the whiteouts, and the near hurricane force winds along with 4-6 foot drifts, countless downed trees...etc. etc. etc. was a once in a lifetime event here in the Mid Atlantic. However, since we did have 2 feet on the ground already, it was just all the more historic. TZ7, Be safe! I hope you guys dont get it as bad as we did here, especially in terms of the winds. Many of our streets look like the photos you posted, and some were with downed traffic signals. Post more pics if you can! Suffice it to say, all of my palms, including the large trachy in the pot wrapped in plactic and xmas lights, are buried. The in ground palms were buried as of last saturday, and now they are under 3 feet. My smaller trachy unfortunately had spear pull, although that may be more attributed to the fact I left the xmas lights on it one day when we hit 49, and the palm cooked to well over 100F im sure. It somewhat dessicated after that, and has not looked good since. I think these storms just pushed it over the edge. Well see if I cant get it to come back. Ok Im going to bed. Ill post more photos tomorrow. Night all! Be safe.

David, LOL! Didn't we have fun in Tennessse! I miss you and would love to see you soon. I really wanted the front seat! I am telling all of you, it was so exciting to share snow with my Maggie. DH took a test tube of snow and froze it so Maggie would always have her "first snow" (rolling eyes). You guys, it really is a big deal that we got snow!! May (lowspark), I thought of you during the day ;-) Annie, I like our "dusting" of snow. I am not prepared for 30 inches. We would be land locked and not know what to do with ourselves.

A news report from NASA says climate change is resulting in greater extremes: Dry areas are getting dryer; Wet areas are getting wetter. I don't know *where* we are in that spectrum. I would have said 'moderate' (30 miles north of Chicago), but after last summer's extreme drought...maybe there will be no more 'moderates'. The pears along our driveway loved our two days of 70's and 80's. It was like watching popcorn pop, the way they went from buds to full bloom. Our magnolia is full out, even dropping some blooms. Everything is hurry-up-greening, tired of 'holding it all in' during our long, cold Spring. Sorry about your pear, littlebug. A friend in Denver said her fruit trees had to be enjoyed the same day they bloomed, because they'd be covered in snow the next day -- but at least hers didn't split. Our pears are columnar -- are Bradford's more 'spreading'?