It is fitting to end February’s fury, that began on Groundhog Day, with this, my last Winter post *… yes, I’m so done with this wicked month, if not the entire Winter season. I’m sure many of you agree.
On February 1st, I went to the Park on a beautiful, sunny 35F (1.6C) morning. I left extra food and warned my pals we were in for a Winter wallop. I told them “don’t look for me for a week and don’t worry, I’ll be back. Watch out for the hawks; stay up in your nests.” Walking home I wondered aloud if I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs to help my Park pals find my house.
Then came the siege of icy and snowy weather.
As if the Groundhog Day snowstorm, (dubbed “Winter Storm Landon” by the Weather Channel), wasn’t enough, we’ve had a parade of Arctic Blasts, wintry-mix Alberta Clippers and high winds ever since.
Winter Storm Landon affected 90 million people. We actually lucked out with Landon. Even though it was originally termed “Snowapalozza” or “Snowmaggedon” those totals were tamped down a little after the warm temps hung on a bit longer than expected. We still had the freezing drizzle, then snizzle (a snow/rain wintry mix) before the snow had its turn at the podium. That two-day event yielded nearly a foot of ice-laden snow.
As you know by now, Pugsatawney Phil saw his shadow which meant six more weeks of Winter – ugh. Phil’s handler made that proclamation. Michigan’s Winter Weather Prognosticator, a/k/a “Woody” was given a reprieve, a “snow day” they said, because of the snowstorm.
But, when she emerged on Saturday, February 5th, surrounded by her fans and local news stations, our Woody had the same dire prediction, just not with such eloquent words; she simply took a look around and scurried back into her house.
Woody is a female and her predictions have been more accurate than Phil. They were both correct this year.
Walking, what little I’ve done, has not been fun. Every trek in February began with a few uneasy steps. I likened each journey to a person getting their “sea legs” i.e. their ability to achieve a level of comfort to be able to walk on a boat without worries of going overboard. When picking my way around ice, whenever possible, I do a little step, step, tap … the tap being a toe tap on the cement to ensure it’s not icy. An onlooker might see me and wonder if I’m squishing a bug.
On February 18th, while hefting shovelfuls of the ice-laden half-foot of snow, I barely gave a passing glance to the sun glinting on the ice-coated tree branches creating exquisite prisms, something I’d normally admire. No, I didn’t race into the house to grab the camera like I did for the first snowstorm of the new year on January 1st … nope, I said “ice, nice … whatever” and went back to huffing, puffing and hefting the heavy snow.
But, back to February – do we blame the fractious weather on Mother Nature’s mood swings?
Perhaps these Winter personalities should bear the brunt of our collective weather displeasure:
The weather folks consistently got their snowfall predictions wrong and finally just proclaimed “several inches of snow will fall” as opposed to giving a definitive amount. One meteorologist used the term “Weather Whiplash” because when it wasn’t icy and dicey, we’d have one day when temps would soar, ice would melt and the next day, refreeze and falling temps made it treacherous to step out of the house.
Thus, this meme was making the rounds on local social media sites.
Every meteorologist or weather site here in SE Michigan has their own unique description of the Winter weather.
I’m left scratching my head over this below distinction between “quite cold” and “very cold” – shouldn’t it be the opposite of what they put for the “real feel” category? For goodness sake, just say brrr!
Believe me, I am NOT the only one with Winter woes and an attitude.
Let’s have a look at some others, okay?
Even the snowman lost his mojo, toppled over and was down for the count. Talk about someone needing an attitude adjustment – sheesh!
People in our City complained about the two, separate, multiple-day snow emergency events instituted to get vehicles off the road for plowing purposes, or risk being towed, plus ticketed ($65.00) for not doing so. The emergency sirens screeched that warning at 6:00 a.m. every day the snow emergency was in effect as a not-so-subtle reminder. That screaming siren did not go over very well!
Even the sweet Council Point Park critters aired their grievances, like here at the pavilion area.
I arrived one morning to see a squirrel, standing partly in the snow and one front paw placed on the picnic table seat, his snow-covered face wearing an almost–defiant look.
I know the squirrels and birds steered clear of this picnic table for fear they would be impaled by one of these icy daggers.
It was okay with them, of course, if I walked under an icy dagger hanging from the roof while doling out treats … just sayin’.
Throughout February I’ve been a fair-weather friend to my Park pals. I suspect they’d give me an “F” for failing to show up on a regular basis, but icy sidewalks, snow-slickened roads, brutal cold and very high winds kept me away. Plus, sometimes I arrived to find the Park path snowy and not plowed or salted. Truly, it hurts my heart to disappoint them, but I was not about to take a nasty tumble necessitating a trip to the E.R. during a pandemic, but I fretted daily about my furry and feathered friends.
Each time I returned to the Park, I suspect my absence was forgiven as they came over to greet me. I imagine a thought bubble over a squirrel’s head the likes of “nice to finally grace us with your presence – we’re starving!” Or how about “Linda, be honest – are you seeing other squirrels?”
Wrangling walnuts: in a nutshell, Parker was a brat!
Even Parker, my always-amiable Park pal was disgruntled with the snow and seemingly with me.
As a youngster, I was always told to be happy with what I had and never ask for more. Perhaps I should impart that wisdom onto Parker. That little rascal got “hangry” with me and no, I didn’t hand him a Snickers bar to make him behave!
I never thought I’d say this, but since he is out of earshot and doesn’t follow my blog … “Parker was a brat!”
On this particular February morn, I might have even give myself a new moniker of “Linda the Juggler” as I was on foot and packing peanuts, sunflower seeds, two dishes of suet, a 1/2 bag of walnuts and a 1/2 bag of hazelnuts. With a wintry mix once again on the horizon, I knew walking would not fit into the immediate weather equation.
I arrived at the Park and began making the rounds to the three spots where I tender treats. Suddenly it began to flurry – hard. “Well that would curtail taking any pictures” I thought.
I received a warm welcome at the Safe Haven Tree that day – a Jay shrieking to herald my arrival and squirrels jockeying in position for treats. I had only one more “drop-off spot” on the other side of the Park, so I had reserved peanuts and sunflower seeds for that spot and I held onto a half-dozen walnuts in case I saw Parker.
Parker appeared, as if on cue, alone and with pleading eyes and parked himself at the side of the path. Having seen a hawk within the last week, I was wary of leaving the walnuts on the path, thus exposing him to a hawk. Also, I wanted to get home before it got too snowy and slick, so I steered my furry friend toward one of the small memorial trees. I laid out four walnuts on the snowy ground beneath the tree. He scurried over, took one walnut and sat next to the tree to nosh on it.
Then he returned for another walnut, and ran up the tree with it …
… then tucked it into a little space in the tree for safekeeping.
Here, let me hone in on this treasure.
He then zoomed back down the trunk and went for another walnut. I figured he’d eat it on the spot, but no, he looked around, then buried it.
I waited patiently and told Parker “okay, I’m going under this tree to keep the camera from getting wet – c’mon and eat your walnuts so Linda can take some more photos of you.”
Yes, I got a few pictures. Then he did something peculiar, even for Parker. He went up into the tree and chattered at me, all the while swishing that bushy tail back and forth. I asked him what his problem was.
There I was handing off what I figured were the crème de la crème of squirrel treats and he was complaining. Obviously my words did not fizz on him, because the weirdness continued as he hurried, headfirst, down the tree trunk and over to the toe of my hiking boots. I swiveled around to get a photo of that, but he started not only tugging on my sweatpants, but scaling up my leg. Then I felt a tug pulling the plastic bag with the peanuts and seeds downward. No pics on any of these activities, so you will have to trust me on that. I had slipped the handle of the bag on my arm so it was out of the way to take pictures. I assume he could smell the peanuts. So, was he going for the peanuts as I hadn’t put any out for him? It sure looked like it. I stepped back and gestured with my hand that this was a “no-no” and the peanuts and sunflower seeds were for the squirrels and birds at the next stop.
He got an attitude and went up the tree and walked to the end of the branch and chattered at me again.
I then began to wonder if it was a Parker imposter. He looked like he was about to spring onto me to get to the bag, I stepped back and said “stop that now!” I went to leave and he jumped down and circled around me once again. I left the rest of the walnuts and said “I’m outta here” when I saw another Fox squirrel out of the corner of my eye – the two clashed, tussling in the snow. I got out of there as his attitude was unnerving me a little.
Happily I made it home without being caught in a snow squall, which happened to me on Christmas Day one year when I lingered too long, a squall erupted and that mile-long walk home was treacherous.
To help me “think Spring” I’ve booked two virtual 5Ks for 2022, “Happy Soles” for Fish & Loaves Food Pantry at Heritage Park and “Run for the Trees” to benefit Michigan’s reforestation efforts via a seed re-planting program by prisoners. That DNR-sponsored event is at a site of your choosing. Tomorrow is March 1st – a new month which hopefully is better than February was.
* Alas, this is not my last Winter post. I wrote this post Saturday afternoon. Yesterday I had good intentions to go to the Park, walk a lot, feed my Park critters, then come home and work on compiling the tax paperwork. I looked outside – Mr. Sun was shining brightly, no ice or snow, a tad cold, even windy, but all my good intentions came to a halt. Instead, I enjoyed four hours walking and taking photos in two parks, BUT … those upcoming posts will be crowing about a February day, not whining about it. 🙂
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow! You called Parker a BRAT!! That tells me how awful he was that day. I’ll be glad when your winter is over.
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Parker is getting more bold and brazen Anne. I’m not sure if it is the weather that makes him more demanding or I’ve spoiled him too much and now he really thinks he is privileged. We are getting a few days of milder weather, but then more freezing rain Friday night and rain Saturday through Monday. I’m counting on Spring to be an improvement – hope I am not disappointed..
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My fingers are crossed for you and your weather.
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Thank you – today they said it was the last day for “meteorological Winter” but not to get too happy about that statement as we have lots of Winter left to deal with.
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This has been a delightful read.
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Glad you liked it Anne.
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Aww I didn’t know there were other Groundhogs that were used, Woody is adorable! Ahh, so much winter left to come. I am hoping it eases over here – I’m tired of the wind. But I should be thankful we haven’t been having snow! lol
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Yes, Michigan’s groundhog is a big deal here Ari. She lives in a large nature center for rehabbed wildlife and she gets visitors all year around, but they make a big fuss over her every Groundhog Day, especially because she has a better record than Phil. December was okay for us and I walked a lot as it was clear, but this month especially has been long and difficult. Spring cannot come fast enough. We have another ice storm coming the end of the week – I hope they are wrong.
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Well perhaps after all the griping all of us have done = Spring might be right around the corner. That snow man laying down on the ground is not allowed. If anyone likes winter it should be a snowman. Ha Good post Linda. Hope warm weather comes your way soon. We are due 60 degrees today. (Not trying to rub it in)
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I agree 100% Peggy – you’d think if we collectively groan about the weather, someone would hear us and stop this nonsense. I almost used the snowman in the header image. I took its picture before my extreme disgruntleness phase kicked in. We are actually getting to 50 one day this week, then the dreaded freezing rain once again on Friday night. I’m glad I got out yesterday and basked in 42 degrees!
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Do not dispair – I have it from a higher authority that Spring will definitely return. Ha A Robin told me. Just being silly.
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Our Robins have been sticking around for some reason but I had a sign of Spring today myself … I saw and heard my first Red-Winged Blackbird. Do you have them in Arkansas Peggy? They have a distinctive sound and usually show up in March. They like peanuts – he swooped down to get one.
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Winter is a time to stay in or have really good clothing. I’m sure your furry friends would agree. They put on their winter clothing in the Fall and have full pantries!
I have a friend in Newfoundland and she told me this winter has been excellent as they have gotten little snow! I think you got yours and theirs.
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I agree Wayne and if it’s just cold, I don’t mind bundling up if it’s clear and dry to go out and walk. It is this freezing rain making things treacherous and the icy snow has not been fun either. Now we are getting freezing rain again on Friday night and as of now a rainy weekend, so I am glad I went out yesterday and enjoyed myself. Winter is not done with us yet. I’m sure the critters are sick of it as well and I am guessing they are likely smart enough to draw a correlation between my absence and the appearance of snow and ice. Newfoundland sure lucked out this year – you are right, they did a switcheroo with us!
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I wonder if Parker really did think you are seeing other squirrels! lol that was cute. He is a squirrel that knows what he wants! I wish we could have spring here too, still snow and ice and more snow to come the next two days and it’s super cold. I think it was -19 Celsius this morning which I think is 2 Fahrenheit? We have not been walking much either because of the ice, some of the farmers fields are nothing but sheets of ice, good for ice skating I guess!
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He’s usually very sweet, but this is the second time he “acted up” and went looking for more treats. Last time, I had passed out peanuts and seeds and he came along and started hopping on my shoe and pulling on my sweatpants. I usually have a Ziploc bag in case I see him, but not that day. Oops! I used to feed the squirrels and birds as they came over to see me while walking on the path, but the hawk, sometimes two hawks, circling around are worrisome. The ice is especially bad this year and we had another wintry mix last Friday which cleared up – now this Friday night we are getting freezing rain and a rainy weekend. That will mess up everything again.
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It sure has been a crazy winter! We have a red squirrel in our backyard that we named Tommy the Terrible! He’s a real bully with everyone else in the yard. 😆
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These animals with their food sometimes! I just sent a link of hummingbirds fighting at a feeder to a blogger in Ireland. They don’t have hummingbirds over there and yesterday I mentioned how the hummingbirds are very territorial – small but feisty!
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I love hummingbirds! We occasionally get them in our yard
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I was hoping to lure hummingbirds to the yard, put up two feeders and got one timid female which I named Hope. I took the feeders away in September after not seeing her all Summer and the next day she came bopping by to eat when I returned from walking – feeders were gone. 🙂
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Our February weather has been all over the place, too. It wears on me. As for Parker, what a character. A squirrel’s gotta do what a squirrel’s gotta do!
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Yes, me too Ally. I resisted the urge to call this post “The Winter of my Discontent” but that is how I feel. Once again we’ve cleared the ice off the streets and sidewalks, (though not at the Park path from last Friday’s wintry mix) and now we’re getting more freezing rain Friday night. Parker is emboldened for some reason – I suspect it’s this Winter weather, or maybe I have spoiled him too much through the years and he now feels entitled. 🙂
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I think I’m in love with Parker the squirrel! Ally sent me, it’s her fault.
I am originally from Michigan. I left when I was 9 months old. One winter up there was enough for me.
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Pleased to meet you Zazzy – ha ha as to blaming Ally. I’d leave Michigan too if I was going somewhere warmer, but I just peeked at your blog and I saw a ton of snow drifting upward across your door and front walk. I am no fan of Winter and people say “well you were born in Canada, so you should like Winter.” Nope, I don’t. Parker is a fun personality at the park where I walk most days (when it’s now snowing or icy). This is one of my favorite Parker posts from Valentine’s Day last year:
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Okay, I’m officially besotted. Parker and his big cookie heart couldn’t be more adorable. I used to live a bit south of where I am now, more isolated and woodsy. I had raccoon friends, possum, woodchucks, the occasional fox and …skunks. I loved the skunks. The trick is to sit very still. I miss the critters. Here, we have a squirrel we call Godot. My cats would wait for him for hours.
I’m looking forward to more stories and pictures of the wonderful Parker.
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I figured you’d like this post Zazzy – it is one of my favorite posts. I felt pretty lucky he posed with that cookie like he did. I’ve been walking at this park since 2013 and Parker is often mentioned in my posts. I enjoy interacting with the critters – even the birds at this park. I’m glad you have a squirrel to spoil too. They have a lot of personality don’t they?
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Snizzle? Love that term! I love Parker.
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We’ve had some fun meteorologists over the years. One character was Sonny Eliot, now long gone, but he coined a ton of phrases – snizzle was one. He’d do the forecast in a singsong voice. I’m going to make a list of their fun terms for a post one time – “weather whiplash” and “ineffective sunshine” are two of my favorites. Parker is a personality for sure! You spoil a critter and this is what you get!
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They use whiplash a lot here because we have it a lot here. Ineffective sunshine is cool. We have that but not the term. We have it today in fact.
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You know it could be because this meteorologist is based at Accuweather which HQ is in your state – you may have a CBS radio affiliate where they report. We had a really gray day today and rain again, but I at least got out for a walk. I am behind in my miles.
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That Parker is BOLD!!! I can’t believe he climbed up your leg to get at the treats that he thought should have been his. What a personality!!! Hang in there, Linda. Spring is right around the corner. Temperatures in the 50s this week for us here in PA.
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Yes, he is bold Laurie and I wonder if it’s from the days I am MIA due to this ever-present ice. I really thought he was going to leap on me at one point, the way he positioned himself in the tree and was chattering at me. Scaling my sweatpants – nice try for gleaning peanuts! We have a few milder days this week, but freezing rain again Friday – ugh.
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I saw an inflatable Santa with his sack today, looking much like your snowman. Why would someone still have one of those out?
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I’m with you on that question Eilene?!
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Weather whiplash and snizzle ~ great new words to add to my vocabulary! 😉 How interesting that you got a taste of Parker’s dark side. I love the picture of him behind the tree trunk, nibbling on his precious walnut. I hope he never gets ‘hangry’ enough to bite you. I’m sure spring can’t come soon enough for him, too.
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I’m going to start collecting these funny weather sayings Barbara – they would make a fun post one day. We had a weatherman years ago – Sonny Eliot. He used to invent all these words and “snizzle” was one of his words and I always liked it. 🙂 Yes, Parker was a little out of character, pestering me for peanuts and I wasn’t going to give him any as I had one more stop to make on the opposite side of the Park and, on the off chance it was not Parker and an imposter, I backed off. after the chattering and tail flicking. It was snowing and I wanted to go under the pavilion and wipe the camera off before heading home. Of course the snow stopped once I got home! I’m sure they are looking forward to warmer temps too.
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Happy March, Linda – February is behind us and spring is ahead. I know how you feel, it was frustrating not to be able to safely get outside much in February. I chuckled at this line: “Linda, be honest – are you seeing other squirrels?” I would’ve ditched the “Parker” who was chattering at you, that seems a tad concerning. I’m so happy to see you got to go for long walks on Sunday!!! I look forward to seeing your next post about the fun you had at the end of February.
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Happy March back at you Shelley! We’re both glad to put February in the rear-view mirror and maybe really get our walking regimens in gear again. Glad I gave you a chuckle – the looks I get sometimes when I’ve been MIA would suggest that is what they are thinking. 🙂 Parker’s behavior was a bit disconcerting to be honest and that’s why I backed off. I’m sure it was him because of nuzzling my boots and trying to scale my sweatpants, but the chattering and tail swishing not so much. I’m looking forward to seeing the pictures which I’ll do this weekend … it’ll balance out working on the tax stuff that I abandoned in a heartbeat.
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Yay – you’re off to a heart-warming start to March! Keep the faith and keep smiling 🙂
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It was gorgeous today – hope that was your weather forecast too Shelly. I hated to come home. We are going to 65 on Sunday and might be shoveling Monday … unbelievably crazy weather!
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We’re back into the low teens today. Sigh. We will see spring eventually! Glad you had a gorgeous day to get out and catch some fresh air.
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Same here – got out again today – they’ve moved our wintry mix to Sunday morning so guess that will be the designated day to hunker down and deal with taxes, although it gets to 65 later in the day but 40-50 mph winds. Weather is definitely nuts.
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Oh, my, your weather sure is up and down! I’m wishing you luck for getting your taxes done and a long walk in this weekend!
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Thank you! Sunday is weird weather – warm, windy, then turns wintry! All in 24 hours!
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Sweet pics and comments, Linda! 😀 And you would be proud of me. I went to my mother-in-laws after spending some horrible time at the dentist (with tartar cleaning), and i feed the squirrels a ton of food. It will help with the cold temps in the evenings that they must endure.
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Glad you liked them Tom. I had been saving up some shots and funny pics to make an exit post for February, then ended up going out on Sunday to the Detroit River where there were lots of chunks of ice around with waterfowl sitting on those ice floes. You have officially become their benefactor and now can’t go visit your mother-in-law empty-handed because they will haunt you!
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A well written summary of a month I’d rather forget! What do you think is up with Parker? Do you think he’s mad because you haven’t been there much, or do you think it’s just that walnuts are too much work? PS. Read Ally’s blog – and click and read the interview link. She gave you a shout-out. Watching the State of the Union address while catching up on Reader. Today was almost spring-like this afternoon.
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Thanks Joni – it was a month of bad weather that didn’t quit. Every Wednesday afternoon a WWJ meteorologist takes questions from the news anchors for “Weather Wednesday” and today he said March will be warmer than usual; last week he said April would be colder than usual. Crazy weather. I saw Snowdrops today. This house in the neighborhood always has Snowdrops growing under a big tree.
I was a little concerned with Parker acting like that because I thought he might jump down on me – he was in an agitated mood. You have a point there with the walnuts being too much work. I was thinking he was a little piggy because he still had walnuts on the ground – he must have smelled the peanuts thru the bag. They do smell good. They are unsalted, roasted and for humans. I open the bag and the peanuts smell wonderful, but I love peanut butter. Then I thought it might be a Parker imposter? A friend of mine was filling her bird feeders once and a squirrel jumped down on her shoulder trying to get at the feeder as she hung it up.
Thank you for the head’s up about the shout-out by Ally. I actually got a notification as the interview linked to my blog. After I approved the link, I wrote a comment and said I was one of the “four Lindas” mentioned and acknowledged it to Ally. I am hoping to catch up tonight in Reader. It was beautiful and sunny this morning and I hated to come home. It is going to 65 degrees on Sunday and the weatherman said we may be shoveling on Monday.
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The awful winter weather is getting to Parker too! Not his usual jolly self around you. We all need spring to come soon!! Very nice photos of Parker. He’s a ham.
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Glad you liked Parker’s pictures Esther, (even though he was a brat and pouting for what he perceived as an injustice). I think this constant battering by the weather in February did most everyone in to be honest. It was gorgeous today and we’re getting to 65 degrees Sunday, then we’ll be shoveling Monday according to the weather guy. Hope you are doing better with your eyes.
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My husband cuts faces in logs like that, too, Linda. 🤗
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That would be fun to see Pam. This guy just gave me a chuckle to see it.
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I’ll take some photos and post them soon. 💕
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Great – I’ll look forward to seeing them Pam.
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It’s times like this that make it clear to me why I live in more temperate climes. Having been brought up in the tropics, the southeast of England is as cold as I can manage, and fortunately rarely has any form of snow, and our levels of ice would most probably be laughed at by Michigan.
I love the sound of Parker – even when he’s bratty 😀 We had squirrels in our previous apartment, where Himself took to feeding them so he could use his new long lens on the weekend to photograph them. They were soon demanding I feed them mid-week too – naturally I complied. The best was when they started to use a large empty flowerpot just by the patio doors for a drink and a wash. I usually sat just the other side of the glass door, but they were comfortable with me being there. I knew any photos I attempted to take through the glass would be ruined by glare, so I just watched and smiled.
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I lived in Canada until age 10 and we used to get some monster snowstorms in Winter. We lived on a street “on the bend” and my father’s VW Beetle would be covered up like an igloo from the drifting snow when he went out in the morning. Our weather has been so erratic the past few years – we are either below normal or above normal, sometimes changing that much within 24 hours. Very strange. I follow a UK photographer who did a post showing all the damage he sustained from Storm Eunice and also some photos of the water – he lives in Southampton.
That sounds funny with your squirrels and the flowerpot for a drink and a wash – they’re enterprising and make themselves at home … “if you feed me, I’ll stay and be your pet.” Parker is a cutie and behaves most of the time. I’ve been interacting with him for about five or six years now. Squirrels do make my day with their antics and the ones at the Park do some shameless begging, especially this little guy. This was my favorite post I did of him last year for Valentine’s Day. You will get a chucke.
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Oh that was adorable! He’s model material, that’s for sure 🙂
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I thought it would give you a smile – don’t tell your husband as he’ll want you to feed cookies too. 🙂
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We have one of those sirens close to our house. I hate the monthly test, if they set ours off at 6:00 am I think I would have to disconnect it! I can’t believe Parker can open those walnuts. He is such a character.
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Our monthly test is at straight-up noon and it will be tomorrow, first Saturday of the month. I can’t hear it unless I”m outside, but at 6:00 a.m. in the area near City Hall, it would not be very welcome. Yes, he was undecided – what to keep/eat and what to bury (in the snow no less). He is a character for sure.
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Hi Linda – the colors in Parker’s fur are so vibrant and extra nice in the snowy backdrop.
and whew, glad you left when he was being bratty – he likely did want all of the peanuts – ha –
also, sea legs was a good term for what you described and I really liked the snow image for how bad it will be “frozen pizza” or “baby boom” hahahah
–
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Parker’s tail with its multiple colors does stand out in a blah background doesn’t it? Especially when he swishes it wildly while looking down at me. I didn’t like his actions and started thinking it might be another squirrel mimicking his usual shtick of jumping on my shoe and trying to climb up my pant leg, so I backed off. I thought that image for the forecast was cute too … we have some funny meteorologists here. In fact there is a commercial on my all-news radio station that says “if we didn’t have crazy weather here in Michigan, people wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”
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“are you seeing other squirrels” Ha ha, what a fun post. Even the snowman gave up — what a winter! We didn’t even have enough snow to get the sled out of the basement. Hang in there. Spring will come!
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Well he had that accusatory look so I figured that question was surely in his mind. 🙂 Glad to give you a smile Jeanine. Yes, the Winter that won’t quit – after a very unusually warm day yesterday, we are having snow tonight and more on Friday. Crazy. Next year, I’ll ship you some snow to get some use out of the sled
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Learned a couple new words today, Linda. I like “snizzle” – another two-fold weather condition term. Our Colorado weatherman likes to forecast “thundersnow” out here. As for “Vernors”, I had to look it up. Never tried it, never even heard of it. I assume I have to get more into the Midwest to find a can.
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“Snizzle” is one of my personal favorites Dave. In Wintertime, we have to have a little fun with our weather or lose our minds. Our weatherman has also predicted thundersnow. Something really unusual was “frost quakes” which we first had during the Polar Vortex in the Winter of 2013-2014. We had an extended period of brutally cold weather and people were contacting local TV stations to describe popping noises outside, thinking it was gunfire. We were told they were frost quakes and it happens mostly in the middle of the night/early morning when the temperature is the coldest, causing the ground to have mini seismic tremors. They are loud, especially when it is quiet outside.
Vernors is big here but they no longer have the bottling plant in Detroit. This soda is very fizzy with a strong gingery taste and gained its fame as Detroit is the home of the Boston Cooler that is made by topping off the Vernors soda with a scoop of ice cream.
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Loved the ending Linda. Either Parker is becoming naughty or he’s changing with the weather.
As usual a great post and a normal one. How one longs for normalcy in a forever changing world.
Thank you Linda
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Hi Susie – Glad you liked the post and was it not reminiscent of you calling that other “Parker wannabe” an imposter (you called him “Impy”)? I think I’ve spoiled Parker and now he has decided “what Parker wants, Parker gets!” Yes sadly, the world as we knew it exactly two years ago when you were still over here is not the same and truly, even in an endemic level, will not be normal. Not to mention the international unrest right now – it is sad and all too much some days.
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