Girl, I know how you feel! I'm so sad, because we won't be able to make it down to the islands this year. It was about this time last year we were counting down the weeks. I'm so bummed. But I'm going to be making a scrapbook of last year's pictures, so at least I can relive through them.

We aren't quite as cold as you are though. I think today's high is about 73. 😉

I completely understand... I miss it every day that I'm not there. Not a day goes by that I don't glance at the Cruz Bay webcam and check the items on this board. I have such wonderful memories that somehow the interaction with the islands on any level helps remind me that it's still there, as gorgeous as I see it in my mind and waiting for me to return!

Snowed here - all day!

I like the seasons - I prefer them to a year-round climate.

I like that the weather is just about to warm up...
Flowers will start to pop above the earth....
Mid-April: tulips will be 12-16 inches high
Grass will turn bright green and start to grow again
Birds will begin the chirp like wild (I can lay in bed and watch them flutter by the window)
the "spring" scent will be in the air
the sound of early morning lawnmowers will begin

later on:
light will remain til 7pm, then 8, then 9
fireflies will buzz around and cause children to chase
neighbors will get busy with plantings - color will spring forth from formerly barren gardens
neighbors will pull lawn and porch furniture out of the garage and place it

even later:
freeways to shore points will freeze on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings - people will talk about their "shore" houses and where they are so that others can come "down the shore" to visit
neighbors will sit out on porches in evenings and light citronella candles - and talk - and visit
neighbors will make pitchers of margaritas to share - and stroll up the street to see who is "out"
some neighbors will bring TVs outside - fans outside - anything to remain outside til 2 and 3am
all windows open and curtains billow - house smells so fresh

temps reach 100 degrees - and A/C rules the day. People only come out at night
Too hot to cook - people grill out or call for delivery - hoagies!

In the fall...
light ends earlier, again
final grass cutting and treatment
neignbors put away lawn furniture
cover the flower-beds with grass-clippings and prepare for the first frost
air becomes crisp (refreshing)
leaves turn yellow, red, orange - the big show!
apples and cider

Winter:
temps drop
snow falls
miss school - tune into the radio "school closing" reports and listen for "the number" of your school.....love the sound of it, in rapid fire...... "CLOSED: 350, 352, 354, 356 thru 360, 362, 364 opening 2 hrs late, 366, 368, 371 1 hr late, 380 thru 389, 391, 393, 395"........and on for the next 15 minutes of closings
hearing your school number is the best sound ever - and you get immediate energy to yell, find snow clothing and sled.....and ask mom if you can go out, immediately! A kid is already ringing your doorbell to "shovel your snow?"
winter white wonderand
car becomes a sled - pump, pump, pump the brakes and steer into the skid
break out the skis and sleds
dark falls by 5pm
people greet each other with: "Is it Spring yet?"

Soon enough, it's Spring, yet.
flowers start to pop......etc.

Honestly, there's nothing better than a solid 4 seasons.

And, ability to visit the VI makes it sooooo much nicer!!!

BOAT DRINKS !!!!!

And to add insult to injury today is supposed to be the coldest day on record NEGATIVE 30 degrees standing temp with a possibility of negative 45 with wind chill.

Thanks for the post Bluwater, it helps thinking ahead but still hurts today!

Yeesh, that's cold! Where abouts do you live?

I've lived where there are seasons, but I prefer the warmer weather all year. We live in the Dallas area, so we do get some cold bouts, but not to much. Usually only one or two days of either snow or ice. I hate the snow. When I grew up in Austin, it was always nice. We hardly ever wore jackets, even in the winter. In fact, we wore shorts quite often. That's my kind of living. 😉

That's a great post, Blu! I totally agree with you. I love the seasons, and feel that I live at the perfect latitude. Actually, I could stand a little more snow than we get, but then again, come March/April, I'm ready for some BASEBALL! Spent 17 summers sweating (and eating dust) on a baseball field - loved every minute of it. I also love the cool fall evenings with football excitement in the air! I don't know why I attribute the change of seasons with sports (Ha!) I guess that comes from having 3 boys. Anyhoo, I couldn't take the same weather year round. I have cousins who grew up in Panama - and they hated it that they never got to see snow! They flew to Denver once every couple years to see snow.

If the weather was great every day - we wouldn't appreciate these long-awaited vacations!