March Skies - Skywatch Friday

March continues to live up to it's reputation of being very unsettled concerning the weather. It's been raining a lot. I've also found it quite cold though the sun has also come out here and there and given us a few glorious days.

What I read on line today tells a different story.  Supposedly it's been almost 2 degrees warmer from December to February than it usually is, we are poised to close our first winter in 43 years without snow and we have had 50 millilitres less rainfall than normal.  Apparently snow has to accumulate at least 1 centimetre at the airport to be recorded as an official snowfall and though it has snowed a bit in different parts of the city it has only been trace amounts. It's hard to believe that we've had less rainfall or that it's been warmer.  Since October we've had so many instances of what they call an 'atmospheric river' that I've lost count.  An atmospheric river is a newer term to me and it's like a river of water in the sky that drops bucket loads of rain, sometimes snow on earth.  As for the warmer weather, I think I've used my thermostat to turn on the heat far more often that I ever have and my electricity bill is the evidence.  It may just be a symptom of aging and not being able to tolerate the cold any more. I now have a better understanding of why people leave in the winter months to go to hotter climates though I'm not likely to do that anytime soon.

So my pining for days of old when I thought it was actually warmer than it is now is because I always think back to my early years in Vancouver when I was a young university student.  March was always a month when my nose would be buried in the books more than usual because it was the month of final papers being due and studying for final examinations.  It also happened to be one of the most beautiful months of the school term.  It was almost always sunny & warm and the cherry and apples tree were in bloom. I yearned to be free to enjoy them but had to keep my nose in the books. To this day, March is the month I most look forward to due to the beautiful memories of spring after long, dark and wet winters.

Well, the weather may finally be turning a bit and not too soon because the spring equinox falls on Friday, March 20th just before 8 in the morning.  Though it's still raining heavily today and probably tomorrow, Saturday is supposed to be a sunny day. I think after that the temperatures should warm up.  On my walk the other day I noticed that it was definitely warmer than it has been for some time and I'm hoping the warming trend continues.  

There was enough of a break in the heavy rain to enable my dear husband to add compost to our small community garden plot.  I'm trying to get him to look after the plot himself this year and gave him carte blanche to do what he'd like.  He loves vegetable gardening but he didn't jump at my proposition.  He thinks I need an excuse to get out and exercise and so I should do the gardening.  He'll also be very busy through the coming months during garden season.  I told him I get enough exercise doing other things throughout the week so we'll see what happens. It's true that he won't have much time for gardening but maybe I can get him to at least plant the garden if I take care of the rest. 

Daffodils in the neighbourhood

It snowed on the mountain tops a few days ago but not down below where I live. I saw these beautiful daffodils on one of my walks. They are such a pretty, happy flower bringing colour to a dull day. and reminding me of more beauty yet to unfold in the months ahead with the coming warmer weather.

After all I also have the flower garden at my home to plant and look after. I'm hopeful that I can sit outside and enjoy the patio more this year. I'm not sure how that will work out because workers will be here over the drier, warmer months to do rebuild the rest of the patios in the building. They completed the patios on my level in early summer last year so my garden was just seeds thrown in and hoping they'd take root (photos below show some of the flowers in the patio garden).

I hope all is well in your world.

Thank you for joining in my Skywatch Friday post.