Spring

I've been in Michigan for more than 25 years. I've spent the better part of that 25 years indoors working but, nonetheless, I've seen the change of seasons with each of those years. And, like everyone else I've spoken with this past week, I've never seen anything like the spring that's sprung here in the last week or so.

A typical Michigan spring is like junior high dating. It's timid. It's a slow process that frequently never goes too far. Spring is just a dance: Snow flurries come and go. Rain soaks the fields. Eventually, by around late April or early May you'll begin to see signs of life: The grass starts to green, flowers begin to bloom-- about a full two months after anything you'd see in more moderate climes. Finally, by June, the party is on and the landscape has been restored with new growth and the winter clothes are back in storage.

The photo above is of one of the magnolia trees in town.  I've never seen these trees in bloom prior to late April or early May. Forsythia, daffodils-- we usually see these in the latter part of the month. The month of April. When Evan's birthday rolls around in early May we hope it will be warm enough to have his party outside. It was well over 80 degrees Thursday, March 22nd. Keep this up and people are going to want to start moving to Michigan.

The down side is severe weather. We've had a tornado, not our usual fare. And the other night flying west we dodged thunderstorms at 34,000 feet for the better part of two hours. I thought the tail was coming off! (Happy to be able to report to the contrary.)

True to Michigan meteorologic form, old spring returned Sunday. When our flight arrived in Detroit Sunday evening it was 72 degrees. 90 minutes later, arriving home it was 53. Monday morning walking to work it was 30. Tuesday night, frost and freeze warnings. The really bad news is that there are a lot of plants that do not fair well when you mess with the weather in this fashion. Hopefully the good news will be that mosquito larvae suffer catastrophically.

I don't suppose I'll see another spring like this in Michigan but, wow, what a show it's been! It's just another one of the advantages to living where I do. You come to recognize and appreciate things that others often overlook as mundane or, more to the point, never get to witness.

Now, where did I put that scarf?