I find in coastal southern New England winter starts a lot later then everyone seems to think. Everyone schedules stuff for the summer, and activities/festivals grind to a halt when September 1 hits even though 90F days are more common then Snow in September. The inevitable September heat wave always surprises everyone. Everyone goes into full-on winter wonderland mode in November (or late October)...but most of the serious snow around Boston and Rhode Island comes in January or February. Generally people get sick of the winter wonderland stuff before REAL winter hits most years. We have this image (conjured by Christmas cards and the traumatic memories of a few bad winters) of the ground being continuously covered in snow all winter, but that is rarely the case around Boston or Rhode Island. Late Summer: Beach Season, Music Festival Season, Summer Vacation, mosquitoes, miserable heat waves in the city. People go into gardening mode even though it is a terrible time to plant trees. Early Fall: People go into mourning, cancel social events, and wait, terrified of impending snow while sweating in heat waves. School starts. Lecture Season. People should be planting trees and bulbs but don't. Late Fall/Early Winter: People realize it isn't terrible, come out of their holes, and start scheduling stuff. People have forgotten how to deal with snow so overreact to any that occurs. Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas blitz. Late Winter: Real Snow storms hit when people finally think it isn't going to happen this year. People are sick of snow. Oddly they schedule more stuff then in the balmy days of early Fall. They feel like old pros where snow is concerned. Early Spring: Occasional snow storms confuse people. Mud Season. Late Spring/Early Summer: Great weather when it isn't raining. Mosquitoes. Mother's Day/Father's Day/Graduation Season. People start planting trees, shrubs, and bulbs way too late.

Tree_Oracle If your ever in Maine during a cold snap. Your invited to come on out on the lobster boat with my hubby. I do believe this is the hardy New Englander your looking for. Please dress warmly.As there is NO HEAT on a lobster boat. You may have to wait a half hour before he takes off from the dock as the bait is usally frozen into solid blocks of ice and he has to soak it over board for abit so he can chop it apart. While the baits over board thawing he will be trying to untie the frozen icy ropes from the dock. If you pick a really cold day.You will be rewarded by getting to see all the sea smoke rolling over and around you. Also wear proper foot gear. If its a rough day the waves coming over the bow usually end up freezing on the floor of the boat making it really hard to walk. Don't plan on hanging onto the railings either as they also are very icy. Also if you have a beard or mustache make sure none of the sea spray get on them as they also will get that icy look! When you think you can't bare the cold any more you can stick your hands or feet in his hot tank that usually has fairly warm water in it good for a quick thaw out. Don't bother bringing any food as it will be froze solid by lunch time. Hot thermos of coffee might still be unthawed by then. Set your alarm early as the boat leaves the dock at sunrise. And he ties back up as the sun sets. And if its snowed the night before ( bring a shovel)he sure could use some help shoveling the dock off before he goes out his does this before day break. Non native New Englanders a dime a dozen.. Hardy native 3rd generation Maine lobstermen. PRICELESS He loves his job.

I used to live next to the Hillsborough River, just north of Tampa, and could often hear limpkin calls at night, and they can be disturbing. Check the link below and see if that's not what you have. Tucker Here is a link that might be useful: Limpkin calls

Well if that turns out to be the culprit, I give dees the credit, since she (or he) first suggested the nighthawk. I'm not very good at onomatopoeia: TCHK or "peent" . I have enough trouble spelling actual words, much less trying spell random strange animal noises. :-) I remember watching nighthawks in Ohio, climbing into the sky and diving, over and over, late into the night until all you could see was the two white bands on their wings. I also remember seeing (and hearing them) in Minnesota when we lived there. I don't think they live in Virginia near me.