When we were living in Canada, I used to think that February was the cruelest month.
March was a close second.
It wasn't directly because of the weather in Canada. Actually it was the weather in the South that caused the problems.
About mid-February, my mother would remind us about how lovely her Camellias were.
Then the last of February, my wife's Dad would let us know that he had planted his onions. In March they would start talking about daffodils, tulips trees, and other insane southern vegetation.
Of course we were usually buried under a blanket of snow.
Now that I am living on the coast, I can even send pictures of Swamp Maple buds like in the picture to my northern friends.
Since we moved from Canada, I have clearly been guilty of highlighting the temperature differences between the areas a few times, but sometimes I get there unintentionally.
Recently I called to ask for some current pictures of the church we used to attend.
We were not far into the conversation when my Canadian friend told me that she had just gotten all her Christmas lights down.
I asked why that was so, and she explained that they had so much snow that she had to wear snowshoes to take down the Christmas lights that she had put along the fence down their driveway.
I couldn't pass up telling her that I had just come from walking on the beach which was bad enough, but I also stuck in the fact that it had been warm enough for me to go barefooted and then wade in the ocean a little.
That brought a "just how warm is it there?" question. I had to say that we were closing in on seventy and that I couldn't remember the last time the heat had run.
Now that I had her on the run, I couldn't resist telling her that I thought I might plant my tomato plants in March this year.
Fortunately we are really good friends, and she realized that I might be pulling her leg.
I let it go at that, but I am wondering just how early I can get those tomato plants into the ground.
I did invite our Canadian friends down to the beach, but when I mentioned about strawberries being ripe the middle of April, I could have sworn she said something about that being unnatural.
We have had a great winter down on the Southern Outer Banks, but as you can see from the online gallery of Emerald Isle during the winter, it is not exactly crowded.
The good news is that it was very warm on Monday and Tuesday.
We actually had to open most of the windows in the house when the combination sunshine and warm temperatures got us to 78 degrees inside.
It was even warm enough to take the boat out for a spin twice this week.
I am just sorry that I had to work today. Not only was it warm, but it was also calm out on the water which would have been a nice change from what we faced earlier in the week.
I can hardly wait until warm days are the rule instead of the exception. I am ready for another serious boat trip like the one we did to Shackleford Banks last year.
It we can take the trip in early May, some Canadian spots will still be iced in from this tough winter.
I am sure some pictures of ex-northern friends boating and in the surf would help their frozen spirits.
