WHAT I DID ON SPRING BREAK

Jojo is even bum-fuzzled

Sixty five degrees on January 7, 2008 - a tie for the record set back in January 1967 . Like a lot of the locals there was no way I was going to spend this gorgeous day inside. Bet there were a lot of no-shows at the offices .

I shed the boots for my gardening clogs and went outside to enjoy the spring break. My goldfish even came out of the murky depths to the top of the pond to greet me. It had been so warm this winter that string algae had started to grow on the pond so I cleaned that out . I clipped off a few straggly perennials and raked up excessive leaves that had been hidden in the snow. But mostly I just sighed and soaked in the warmth as I sat in the garden with my faithful companion Jojo the rat terrier who was busy chasing Sparrows.

The record warmth of the past few days has the ground saturated with the melted snow and last night we had more rain which may cause flooding in some areas. I heard that parts of Indiana got 2 to 2 1/2 inches of rain overnight . The downside to the warmth was the first tornado to occur in January . Unfortunately 2 people were killed and a lot of property damage has been done in the Midwest.

Old-timers are reminded that it was 65 degrees a day before the worse blizzard in Chicago history hit in late January 1967 .

It's back inside and back to work for me. I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall, but at least I'm glad I enjoyed a brief Spring break.

From ZERO TO 60 IN 3 DAYS

Three days ago it was Zero in Chicago. Today a lovely Southern wind brought us temperatures that broke the 1907 record of 54 degrees. It was a toasty 61 degrees . YES ! Sunday, January 6, 2008, sixty one wonderful degrees.

Of course this will probably be as fleeting as a snowball in hell but I just couldn't stay inside and not enjoy the balmy Chicago weather. It's nice to see green grass again.

Guess I won't be saying " That'll be a warm day in January " anymore.

PRAY FOR RAIN

What once was Lake Turtle in Florence, Alabama

My friends in Alabama tell me that they've had the worse drought in a hundred years and so far there's no end in sight. The same goes for neighboring Georgia and other Southern states. Water restrictions have been in place for quite some time. Imagine not being able to water your garden or, even worse, if you're a farmer and you depend of it for your crops.

I should ask Phillip at Dirt Therapy how he's managed to keep his beautiful garden in Florence, Alabama alive.

In the meanwhile, please join me in saying a prayer for rain.

FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE NEW YEAR

New Year's Morning we were greeted by one of the prettiest snowfalls I've seen. It was a winter wonderland. This is my front yard. The mature trees look so beautiful in their white dresses.

This is a picture of my backyard. The yews and viburnum are covered with about 5 inches of snow.

After shovelling all the sidewalks I've suddenly had my fill of snow . I'm ready for Spring now. Yep, that's how much I like winter and snow. One, big, perfect pretty snow and then farewell !
I see by the forecast that it is going to be 54 degrees this weekend. Yippee !

REALLY BIG SHOW

You can see why I love Viburnum-beautiful structure even when bare

I much prefer snow to the awful ice storms we've had for the past week. The garden looks lovely in its fresh white dress.

My pond - a giant size bird bath

Pots of Snow

The Yews looks great with a snowy face

The Rhodo has been wiped clean of the heavy snowfall to prevent breakage

It takes the poets to write about the glories of winter and the rest of us to shovel them.

TWISTER

It had been raining almost everyday for a week. Non-stop. Last Thursday, I stared in disbelief at the message on the tv screen : Tornado warning for Chicago area. What, a tornado in Chicago ? You've GOT to be kidding . So I switched over to the weather channel and sure enough it was sighted near the Eisenhower expressway !

Suddenly the sky grew very dark and 80 mph winds whipped the trees nearly to the ground. An eerie feeling came over me as scenes from my childhood flashed through my mind : Twister. How many countless hours had I spent underground in a storm cellar waiting for one to pass over ? I sometimes feel that I spent so much time in a hole I could be a mole.

I am terrified of severe thunderstorms, lightning and tornadoes because I've seen the damage they have done. Neighbors homes totally destroyed, barns ripped off their foundations and sent through the air to the next county, huge trees uprooted and dead chickens everywhere.

My first thoughts were to go to the lower level for protection but almost as soon as the announcement was made, the storm subsided. Then came the tv coverage of 300,000 chicagoans out of electricity, huge trees felled everywhere, roof collapses and homes flooded in the suburban areas.

Was it really a twister or just a funnel cloud ? No one seems to know. One thing's for sure : It was a hell of a storm. We were lucky in our neighborhood but not far away in Lincoln Park it looked like a war zone. The weather this August has really been one for the record books.