Abnormal

It has been a very, very cold November. We have had temperatures in the -20s but with wind chill it has been in the -40s for the past couple weeks. It will get much colder still, but the buzz around town is that this is abnormally cold for this time of year. Last year, it wasn't this cold until after Christmas. :(

The extra cold weather has meant that it has been too cold to snow. We had a bit of snow before Halloween and I don't think I can recall snow falling since then. Which also means that there have been no blizzards or storms, because there is nothing on the ground to blow around. It has been a very strange start to winter indeed.

After an abnormally (there's that word again) short summer, I feel like we are in for a rough winter in terms of temperature. I don't imagine it would warm up again soon so we may not get more snow until the spring...at which point there may be some storms in store for us. That will make me grumpy. When everyone at home starts talking about spring gardening, etc., we will still be in prime blizzard season. I hope Mother Nature isn't saving up the blizzards we would normally get in November/December for the warmer months...that would make for non-spring-like weather!

There is an upside to the cold, however! The Northern Lights have been beautiful the past week and have been dancing for us almost nightly in the clear sky littered with stars. If I had a better camera, I would show you pictures...alas. You can look at these from the beginning of the year to get an idea!

Cold or not, I happily stand outside watching for as long as I can every time I notice them. It is awe-inspiring to witness, and I've seen more Northern Lights so far this year than I did all of last year in total.

See? Always a silver lining! :)

-L