Weather 2012

[cohan]

Woods and forest are about the same to me- and both are 'foreign' words around here-- expected in fairytales ,think: 'Enchanted Forest'
 or in more technical speech- eg. a discussion of 'Boreal Forest'.. woods doesn't mean much different to me, though it is  a more genteel term, most likely used for a tract of forest near civilisation, maybe tamer than forest, and probably more for poetry!
Here, its all bush, whether its deciduous or mixed forest (note the use of 'forest' since that's a more technical description...lol) and regardless of the size of the area- though if you can see out from all sides while standing in the middle, it probably wouldn't be called going into the bush...lol

Brush- as in 'clearing brush' or 'brush piles' or 'burning brush' (after its made into a 'brush pile' is also commonly used here-- leans a bit towards meaning undergrowth- which here means roses, many kinds of ribes, shepherdia, symphoricarpos, various prunus and saplings.. and in wet areas, see my comments above- would refer to willows, alders, betula etc... although once talking about clearing brush, it could really mean any unwanted woodies of any size, and brush piles can include mature trees too.. its almost more a description of the unwantedness of the woodies, in the locations they are in, rather than any particular kind of plants...

Absolutely beautiful here today, as well-- sunny, seasonally very warm- I was sweating on a gentle walk in the 'bush'! We were forecast to be 7C as it was yesterday, but it got to at least 10C...

Yes, slough rhymes with boo- or do;
due and dew could be do, but I lean more often to rhyming them with few...lol
I think its ridiculous to have re-named your talks, Rick-- she must have felt 'shrub' was too highbrow for the group....  

A few  pics from today's walk.... you get an idea of how much the snow cover varies with different parts of the landscape; these aren't just random variations- these are patterns, and reflect typical (no doubt some annual differences due to wind)  zones of lighter and heavier snow cover, which has a significant impact on the plants-- mostly re: moisture levels.. Ruffed Grouse in the first image.. common and frequently seen here..

[Hoy]

The 7th day of the new year and still no frost in sight. But no sun either. . . .

Today I spotted the first crocuses with flowers but they are shut due to the rain.


Btw slough, boo and do would be written 'slu', 'bu' and 'du' in Norwegian (actually we have words written exactly like that but they mean: cunning, shed and you) ; and due and few would be written 'dju' and 'fju' respectively (such words don't exist in Norw). Much easier 

Today I have also cut down two trees - a birch and a pine. Lot of work tidying up afterwards as they had many large branches.

[cohan]

No one could ever claim English spelling is easy or straightforward-- but it is rich in history!..lol
Its been crazy mild here-- something like 10C today, and still tomorrow- though its supposed to rain tomorrow (its been forecast several times, and fortunately has never materialised-- still too much snow/ice for rain to be welcome!) and possibly snow later, and then temps drop considerably for at least a couple of days....

[Hoy]

Still no freezing but the road was covered by 10-15cm of sleet this morning. However, in my garden it had fallen just 2cm. Anyway, when I had finished my work for today it was all gone. The first rhododendron has showed its first flowers but the lack of sun keep them shut.

[cohan]

Yesterday (Sunday) was nearly 12C here, and today at least 10C (still lots of snow though!)
some shots from Sunday, showing how variable the snow cover is- the image with a clear line between the wooded and open area is very telling...
Then a shot of one of my (under construction) rock garden areas, and where most overwintering pots are sunk.. still mostly covered, though some parts are showing through.. then our gravel road, a mix of patches of packed icey snow and loose grave; the melting should be mostly over for now, though not much snow in the forecast yet.. today it was supposed to rain, luckily we dodged that, and temps drop after tonight...

[Schier]

Cohan, we have about the same as you here, not surprisingly, although not the snow. Today is windy as the dickens again, and temps dropping, as they look to be all through the area and down to Calgary, etc.  My sister in Calgary says there was black ice this morning, some drifting, just plain nasty driving.  Winter is on the way???
My seventeen year old son asked me yesterday, " you don't suppose we might just be able to skip winter this year?" Not likely....

[Hoy]

Still no winter here. I am not sure whether I prefere rain or bare frost (can I say bare frost?) with sunny days and cold nights - neither is good for my plants though.

[James McGee]

I think these pictures really say it all.

Last February 1st

Anemone coronaria blooming in the garden now.

This is my favorite Anemone.  I'm zone five, but this zone 6 hardy anemone has survived the last few Winters.  If this keeps up I'm going to have to plant Mediterranean species.

James

[cohan]

Faith- winter is definitely not skipping this year...lol-- temps are already much lower, and after a couple more mild days, looks like next week will drop farther still, though still not to temps we'd consider extreme for this time of year (daytimes in low -teensC or -20'sC at worst - so far in the forecast- to be really cold for January, it would have to hit at least -30C daytime!
We got a dusting of snow overnight- enough to freshen up our dirty snow paths...lol-- but the roads were clear, it all blew straight across in the strong winds...
James, quite a contrast! Personally, I'd hesitate to plant for the extremes of 'warming' (I'm sure many of us can get away with a zone or two bump in some things)There is sure to be a cold winter or even a few cold weeks thrown into the mix at some point to take out all those tender plants! Seems to be a lot of ups and downs in the general climate mayhem...

[Todd Boland]

Snow comes and goes in St. John's this year...we had a freak 30 cm snowfall in November but a week later it was all gone.  Three days ago we were still snow-free but today we got 12 cm.  Just in time, as tomorrow is dropping to -12 C with a windchill of -26 C!  Glad for the snowcover now!  Suppose to rain the weekend so we may be snow-free again!  BAD frost heaving in the open areas of the garden this winter, but the crevice garden shows no heaving.

[Hoy]

Still no freezing temperatures although we had some sleet and hail yesterday. Today we had nice weather and absolutely no wind. The fjord was calm as a mirror and although the sun still is weak it almost felt as spring had come. I was out felling some trees but got in in time to picture the sunset (which is early in the afternoon about 4PM). Here are the results: (The bird feeding place in the foreground)

[cohan]

Nice sunset!
It always amazes me that some of you Northern Europeans can be farther north than us, yet so much warmer! We would think we were doing very well if we could say no freezing temps yet-- in September! If your warm ocean currents are ever knocked out by melting ice caps,as some suggest, you guys will be trouble!
Sunset is already almost 5pm now...
Winter is back today- windy and snowing, 10cm forecast, then flurries Sunday and Monday, periods of snow Tues....going to -18C tonight, -33C wed morning....

[Hoy]

Nice sunset!
It always amazes me that some of you Northern Europeans can be farther north than us, yet so much warmer! We would think we were doing very well if we could say no freezing temps yet-- in September! If your warm ocean currents are ever knocked out by melting ice caps,as some suggest, you guys will be trouble!
Sunset is already almost 5pm now...
Winter is back today- windy and snowing, 10cm forecast, then flurries Sunday and Monday, periods of snow Tues....going to -18C tonight, -33C wed morning....

Cohan, you must remember that I live at the west coast! Although this winter has been very mild in all Norway so far it is full winter and snow in the inland and farther north. But now the forecast for the week says snow on Thursday and very cold (-5^oC !) in the weekend
And your place is inland and at a high altitude! I think the climate at the west coast of USA and Canada is more similar to my climate although you have to go as far north as 60^o.

[cohan]

We don't think of ourselves as high altitude -the mountains are still far,  we are under 1000m...
Of course coasts are very different, but at 60 degrees North, even the west coast of NA is colder than you! -5C- so cold... (I know cold is very relative to what you are used to in general, and for the year and season..) Tomorrow its not supposed to get above -18C, with windchill of -29C, and then it gets colder...lol And I expect to go out to saw some wood tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, Wednesday, which may be even colder (and more snow on the ground by then)..

[McDonough]

We have a thin skimcoat of snow, about 2", and it is -18 C this morning (0 F).  At least it is sunny.  Although, probably not quite as frigid as Cohan's locale, with your predicted high temp of -18, our high today is supposed to get up to 18 F (- 8 C)