Arctic Oscillation Is All That It's Cracked Up to Be

April 21, 2013

            How can it possibly be April 21? Something new is something getting to be very old. We are shattering records with what the noaa.gov is calling Arctic Oscillation. Here are some fine images and explanation of its patterns.

http://nsidc.org/icelights/2012/02/02/the-arctic-oscillation-winter-storms-and-sea-ice/


In other words the cold air is just circling around and around and around. Snow, and plenty of it. I think I got 14 inches of what felt like cement. The pine tree in the front was laden with it and of course it lost branches. Only two this year but of course winter is not over yet. I think about taking the great white pine down but the cost holds me back. I looked at it from my neighbor’s house and it is fine above house level. I think of the birds that live near the top undisturbed, unbeknownst to us.

I took a walk yesterday with a neighbor. Forty degrees felt downright HOT!! What’s going to happen when it hits seventy degrees in about two weeks? Yes it will come and quickly. The buds on the trees are thick and waiting for the first warm day. The sun warms them just enough to encourage the tree to continue on its cycle of spring. I heard Mourning Doves the other day. All the birds hover near the south sides of buildings and homes to stay warm when the weather is so bad. They survive.

            So what’s new in this very, very old winter season? The closest I can come to something new is a new Apple TV. It’s a devise that connects the internet to the TV.  It’s not a big new thing but it does give me opportunity to watch my favorite British mysteries. I’m sure I’ll find other uses for it.

            SPRING I’m calling out to you!!!! I can only, just barely, touch your fingertips. Embrace me.

            Sincerely,

            Jeanne Mulcare