April! What wonderful images we get when we are huddled round the central heating in the middle of January with deep snow outside and a howling gale down the chimney.
April has arrived and is more than a third way through,, but - as usual - it is a capricious month. The Silver birch tree I see from my window - my friend who tells me how windy it is without me listening to the weather forecast, has at last burst into full leaf and is shouting Spring every morning when I draw back the curtains and see it greener than yesterday.
The Hellebores might be fading, their flowering time come to an end, but the tulips, the cowslips and the asperula and aubretia (the two have 'married' and are now inseparable) are out in full force, vying for attention in competition with the late daffodils. And when, like at eight o'clock this morning, the early sun is shining full on them, there is no doubt that the whole world from my windows is shouting 'Spring'.
But fast forward to lunch time and look again. The wind has risen to gale force, the silver birch is thrashing its branches against each other and something which looks suspiciously like sleet is pouring down the window. The central heating has come back on, I have added a layer of clothing, a shawl I bought in Ulan Ude (while on the Trans-Siberian railway, where I am sure it will have experienced far more wintry weather than what is happening here on the edge of the Pennines).
I understand from my carer that the river is 'over' -the Ure is a fast riser when it experiences gale force winds and heavy rain-and given that when I opened the front door last night on my way to bed someone was throwing buckets full of the wet stuff down outside for the wind to blow down the road in waves- I was quite surprised to see the bright Spring morning when I got up at eight.
But, as anyone living in the UK knows - there is nothing about our weather that can be called settled. Perhaps that is why we enjoy living here.
As I sat in the window at breakfast time a family went past, Mum and Dad were in shorts (the first I have seen this year and I would say a bit optimistic), the two children, a boy and girl, both of early school age, were capering about in front of their parents and bursting with energy. Mum and Dad** had hiking poles, the family dog, on a long lead, looked excited at the thought of the forthcoming day out, and they were obviously setting off on an expedition. I wonder where they are now and what sort sort of weather they are having.
Whoever it was who said 'N'er cast a clout til May be out' knew what he/she was talking about. Have a nice day whatever the weather.
**Nice to see that Dad was encumbered with a large rucksack - good to see that some things surpass the clamour for the equality of the sexes.
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26 comments:
It has snowed here today. Not down here at sea level but up on the hills, although we did get some very cold sleet and hail earlier.
I am hoping for a return to better weather soon.
We are having very warm weather here today - going up to 80 F (26+ C) - a little warmer than the norm for this time of year. My daffodils are looking so lovely out my kitchen window with the pretty purple grape hyacinths giving an extra pop of color too! Glad you are enjoying your Spring when you can, Pat!
You've just described exactly today's weather here in North Kent. At the moment, 15.15, the wind is gusting to 50+mph and a few hours of rain are shortly about to happen. It rains part of every day here lately.
I can see snow on the very tops of some fells. It turned very chilly again overnight. Xx
Hopefully spring proper will arrive before too long - all sorts of everything here in Suffolk today
Howling wind in West Wales - heading for 59mph before it dies down tonight. Sunny day forecast for tomorrow, but still cold. Next week looks better. Keep warm!
Another lovely post. Thank you.
At half-past four this afternoon it was almost dark here and rain was lashing down soon afterwards. Now, an hour later, the sun is shining brightly as if another day has dawned!
What a delightful post, Pat, and your words have let me see what you see! Our abelias, dogwoods, lilacs, and crabapple are all in glorious bloom and the iris are coming up.
Last night was the first night when the low temperature didn't nearly get to freezing. The uncertainties of April weather!
Hugs!
My feet are cold.
It will be a heatwave next week.
Just had some high wind followed by hail here.
The UK climate has changed so much in the last 30 years. It will change more in the next 30 if we don’t do something about it. Unfortunately, I don’t think enough will be done. Must admit I am glad I have most of my years behind me.
Now getting quite chilly here - heating full on and curtains drawn against an early dark.
Here in Toronto we had Spring one day last week and today it is summer, 27c and supposed to have summer for the rest of the week..GG
We had some fat white bits in our rain here today and it was very cold and windy too. Not your usual April showers, but at least the reservoirs must be filling nicely. My clouts are all still ready to hand!
When it comes to weather, April is unpredictable in Massachusetts too. Today is 75 degrees F and the warmth has brought the Magnolias in to partial bloom. Steady warmth is more likely in May.
So many lovely descriptive pieces in your post Pat, and I enjoyed the family setting out on their adventure. It made me search in my bookcase for the 1989 childrens' book 'Going on a Bear Hunt' by Helen Oxenbury, as I was sure the cover featured a similar scene. 'No dog, or Mum' I thought, but found those two are actually featured following, on the back cover of the book, along with info that it was the winner of the 1989 Nestle Smarties Book Prize, and winner of a 2011 Mumsnet Best Award.- Pam, Aust.
It was a gorgeous sunny day here, but our Daffodils are only up 3-4".
The weather here is incredibly fine.
Spring weather is variable. It gets warm and we get our hopes up for a nice stretch of weather and then bang it closes in again.
A beautiful day here, very warm for mid April----up to 72 this afternoon, sunny with a nice breeze. Perfect day for working outside and getting some of the detritus cleared out of the garden beds and some transplanting going on as well.
For the last few days, we have had either rain or cold - or both at the same time. I try telling myself that the rain is good because it will fillup the ground water.
Concerning the equality of sexes, I often have the impression that the fathers do the traditionally "female" things but they still do the "male" things, too.
Hilde in Germany
Many men in Brighton seem to wear shorts all year long. They either think they have nice legs, or they are nuts. I suspect the latter!
It has been warm enough here for some folks to go around in shorts back in March already, but the weather has been so changeable over the past weeks that it is hard to choose what to wear. When I leave for work early mornings, I need my padded winter coat. By the time I leave the office, some afternoons when the sun is out it is so warm I want to throw all the winter stuff off and just skip about on the fields.
Come evening and I am under my warm blanket on the settee.
Cro - I have always considered mens' legs to be the least 'sexy' thing -mens' legs are best covered with a nice pair of tightish chinos the brighter colour the better - a la Michael Portillo. Some things are best left to the imagination.
Thanks everyone. Reading your replies just goes to reinforce what we all know - weather is hardly ever what we expect (unless of course we live in the Sahara.
We will have five days of 70-80 degree weather...and then it will snow next Tuesday. (quietly sobs from across the pond...)
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