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We bundle up and walk in the cold crappy weather. We read, we go on adventures, sometimes overnights, to nearby cities where we see plays or go to museums, we socialize with friends, but we also like our own company.
I took this last week because my summer hobby is photographing the old stones for Find A Grave. The snow is getting less and less--you should have seen it a month ago. Obviously no one plows our cemeteries. BTW, the empty places are where gravestones have sunk down under the ground because they are very old-1600s. Hopefully they can be rescued.
I hope someone restores those old gravestones. When I had a walking partner who wasn't creeped out by walking in the cemetery we'd walk there every week.
Our cemetery was Always plowed.
Really? You still are having cold, snow, and a depressing winter? Well I guess it is only March, but I thought by now all this would be over with and people in the north would be seeing tulips, leaves coming out and warmth starting. I remember childhood in Chicago area and in March it was the first breath of spring with crocus and hyacinths coming up. Guess weather has really changed for the worse.
Here (AZ) its more of the same, day in and day out but not complaining. As I am realizing from other's postings, I need the sun and welcome it everyday. We are on the brink of another frying summer, am putting the sunscreens back on the windows, and bought a bigger TV to watch netflix. Still, its warmth, not cold. One can still be out and about here in summer if you get up early enough (6-8 AM). After that, its air conditioning inside the house, the car, or the mall.
Truly I hope all you northerners will have relief soon. I do sympathize with you remembering the cold days I spent in Chicago.
This has been the winter from Frozen Hell in most of the northeast and midwest ... and in some parts of the upper south as well. I think the percentage of the Great Lakes that have been frozen equaled or set a new record -- over 90% I think. The cold won't let up, either.
It's been the coldest winter in Upstate NY that I ever remember, including the nasty winter of 1976-1977. The feds just declared most of the grape/fruit growing counties in NYS federal disaster areas as most vineyards and many orchards have been decimated by the bitter cold. It's even been too cold in March for sap to run in the sugar maple trees, so the maple syrup harvest will be down, too (need warm sunny days and cold nights). I don't even have crocuses in bloom yet (a few yellow snow crocuses have buds) since the snow hasn't even all melted yet!
A few times this past month (ie, in March) even my dog didn't want to go out it was so bitterly cold!
This has been the winter from Frozen Hell in most of the northeast and midwest ... and in some parts of the upper south as well. I think the percentage of the Great Lakes that have been frozen equaled or set a new record -- over 90% I think. The cold won't let up, either.
It's been the coldest winter in Upstate NY that I ever remember, including the nasty winter of 1976-1977. The feds just declared most of the grape/fruit growing counties in NYS federal disaster areas as most vineyards and many orchards have been decimated by the bitter cold. It's even been too cold in March for sap to run in the sugar maple trees, so the maple syrup harvest will be down, too (need warm sunny days and cold nights). I don't even have crocuses in bloom yet (a few yellow snow crocuses have buds) since the snow hasn't even all melted yet!
A few times this past month (ie, in March) even my dog didn't want to go out it was so bitterly cold!
I only spotted a few yellow crocus, too.
If the grapes are frozen we'll have to take a trip and buy out are favorite local wine.
That'll be something to do!
I really like cold weather as long as there is no precipitation. Temps in the 40s with a hoodie is fine by me as long as no ice or snow is on the ground. I'm more afraid of falling. I go out more in cold weather.
As you can see, the temp was in the low 40s the day this was taken. The grass isn't green yet. There are no leaves on the regular trees but the Bradford Pears are in full bloom. A great day to be outdoors.
......On a trip to Arizona last year we met many midwesterners who are deep in the snow most of the winter, those that can go south are more than happy to leave, but as age makessnowbirding impossible some contemplate making the move south a permanent one.....
Just a minor point in your post, but it made me curious. How can age make snowbriding impossible? I can see that finances can make it impossible, but age? Older people are the ones who snowbird, or am I misunderstanding something?
Indeed it is. We don't spend a lot of time outside in the hot, humid summers here in Florida. Any chores or walking to be done outside are done early in the AM ( before 9AM if possible) or in the evenings, but you fight mosquitoes and no-see'ems then. We tend to run from our air-conditioned houses to our air-conditioned cars to go places, and IMO the heat is manageable that way..
About 15 years ago I was visiting my mother in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for about two weeks during the summer. As I didn't want to skip exercise for that long, I decided to go jogging every other day. I would set the alarm and leave my mother's place in the pre-dawn darkness before the sun was up. Unfortunately, that just didn't make much difference. It is so humid there that it simply doesn't cool off at night, and I would return DRENCHED in sweat, even after a relatively short jog, just as it was beginning to get light.
The only way to exercise in the south in summer is at a gym. I could never live in a place of high humidity and hot temperature, although I did it for three years once, when I was 19 to 21 years old, way back in 1962=1965 when I attended university. The difference? ACCLIMATION! I lived in non air conditioned dorms (which of course no longer exist in that climate and even then were on their way out) and had a non air conditioned car (which no longer exists either). Today with the ubiquity of air conditioning it is pretty much impossible to become used to the heat and humidity as people once were.
The deep south is hell on earth for at least four months of the year.
Beautiful now and a welcome relief from the long winter, but plant those trees at your own risk. When the blooms drop they emit the most noxious smell. Our village planted those along the sidewalks and I walk out in the street for the month they are shedding their blooms and fruits.
This link is to an article on them that explains why NYC smells like an orgy in the spring and why a Bradford Pear is called a semen tree.
About 15 years ago I was visiting my mother in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for about two weeks during the summer. As I didn't want to skip exercise for that long, I decided to go jogging every other day. I would set the alarm and leave my mother's place in the pre-dawn darkness before the sun was up. Unfortunately, that just didn't make much difference. It is so humid there that it simply doesn't cool off at night, and I would return DRENCHED in sweat, even after a relatively short jog, just as it was beginning to get light.
The only way to exercise in the south in summer is at a gym. I could never live in a place of high humidity and hot temperature, although I did it for three years once, when I was 19 to 21 years old, way back in 1962=1965 when I attended university. The difference? ACCLIMATION! I lived in non air conditioned dorms (which of course no longer exist in that climate and even then were on their way out) and had a non air conditioned car (which no longer exists either). Today with the ubiquity of air conditioning it is pretty much impossible to become used to the heat and humidity as people once were.
The deep south is hell on earth for at least four months of the year.
We found the humidity in FL to be drinkable, that said my sister who lives there finds 80 cold.
Just a minor point in your post, but it made me curious. How can age make snowbriding impossible? I can see that finances can make it impossible, but age? Older people are the ones who snowbird, or am I misunderstanding something?
After talking with a good number of those who winter in Green Valley AZ we realized that most had some doubts about going south in their late seventies or early eighties, even at my age (69) traveling is more of a hardship than it was in my youth. The older trailer/motorhome group most definitely were thinking of making the move south to a permanent address in the valley or just staying put for the winter. Even those who fly south admit to a certain foreboding regarding the long absence from their usual northern residence.
My wife and I were contemplating buying a small condo to stay the winter in but after talking with those who had been snowbirding for a few years we found that the cost of owning two homes included more headaches than we want. I think the beginning age for the average SB's is around the early sixties when they are newly retired, the trip cost and hassles become more of an issue I'm told after a few years of back and forth travel.
My neighbor is a good example of what happens when ones health become an issue with the SB life, he's had a minor heart problem (pain) and his doc has advised him not to drive his huge home on wheels to the south this year lest he become one more motorhome owner who crashes off the road due to poor health. On another note, I left the south last year wondering just how long the Arizona retirement communities could be sustainable, there was a ton of vacant homes for sale in Green Valley and the areas around Tucson on up to Mesa to the north. My children's generation isn't expressing too much interest in the old southern retirement/golfing life that was so popular for our age group.
A lot of people find the length of stay in Arizona to be the dealbreaker, we found that a month was long enough to soak up some sun and visit with friends but after that we started back north to our familiar ways and our comfy bed at home. It's not impossible to continue the back and forth but moreover most just get tired of the whole idea of moving between two residences, whether they rent or own..
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BTW, the empty places are where gravestones have sunk down under the ground because they are very old-1600s. Hopefully they can be rescued.
That didn't work for me.
