As I read the east coast blogs and, most significantly, looked at their pictures of the driving and piling snow, I felt a bit conflicted.
Hell, no.
I felt bad for my brethren who were already taking to the shovel. Sorry, Austin, who was moved in Maine to post this headline and all it entailed — The First Snow: An Angry Blogger and His Roof Rake. Austin and many in Maine lost their power. That made me feel bad. Where are the candles and lighters? Oh, yeah, I have the battery-powered LED Brooklyn Lantern ready right there on the bookshelf.
At the same time, I was relieved the white stuff had not yet visited the Syracuse city neighhborhood of Eastwood home of my dear wife Karen and I. It will hit us soon enough, and before the official start of winter on Dec. 21, too. After all, Syracuse is the snowiest top 100 metropolitan area in the United States.
Fallen leaves and still blooming roses.
No, here in the start of November, we still have the confusion of front-garden roses poking up blooms amid a bed dotted with crushed brown leaves blown in from neighbors’ trees.
How colorful, and pleasingly schizo.
Are flowers still blooming if you still live in an area where fall’s supposed to be giving way to winter, and is it surprising you? Were you hit with that first snow yet, and what have you done to prepare for it when it does come? How much snow is enough snow for you, and why?
Mark Bialczak 
Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered “too much” snow. I guess when it’s enough to make the power go out, that’s enough. 🙂
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Yup, that’s a (power) line you don’t want to cross, Rachel. 😦
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We had snow Friday night here in Kentucky –way early for us. Good thing the next day wasn’t a school day. There was a light dusting on the roofs though nothing on the ground, but still, they’d have had to cancel school. I’m from Michigan so I find that a hoot. Lots of my garden was killed off by crazy long hard winter last year. so not much left to still be blooming —
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Yes, it is interesting when you move where they’re not used to the snow and don’t have the equipment and thus cancel at the forecast of the white stuff …
Sorry to hear that you had a killing winter in your garden in Kentucky, Leigh. Ouch.
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Nothing blooming anymore here, we had a hard freeze over the weekend. If it warms back up rains, we get the stray weed in places. Supposed to be warm enough through next month. Im ok with snow if it snows one day and melts the next.
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Yes, Apple Pie, the return of warmth always makes me feel good. Almost 60 here for Election Day. A blessing in Syracuse, to be sure.
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It’ll snow when it snows–never know here in Minnesota. But what is for sure is that when the snow falls it will stay until at least April. And it will get wicked cold, so cold we will have to keep our children home from school. Winter is not my friend. And that is the nicest thing I can say about it 🙂
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Let’s trade cold stories, Liz. It gets so cold here in Syracuse that my moustache freezes upon contact. My nose hairs … That’s enough. TMI, even. No, winter is not my friend.
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Yes! There is definitely some confusion going on around here as well. No thank you on the white stuff! I know it will be here in no time but NO QUIERO!! I do feel bad for the Maine folks.
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No quiero tambien, Maria. Lo siento mucho, Maine!
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Muy bueno espanol, senor!
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Gracias. Entiende un poco. Estudie para quatro anos en colegio y dos semstres en universidad. Pero Trienta y cinco anos ….. since I graduated from college, Maria. Did I remember right that high school is colegio? Look for my post on Friday, please, because it has to do with Spanish and English and my attitude.
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Looking forward to your post on viernes!! 👍
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One of the oddest things today was seeing the leaves that had fallen from the trees, now sitting on the snow. Autumn and Winter had collided, and while Autumn was currently on top, I think Winter won this battle…
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Winter won the Bangor dash by a foot I’d say, Austin, by your accounts. Ouch.
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We have flowers, green leaves, falling leaves, leafless trees, crushed leaf particles. It’s all there. 🙂
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An autumn salad at your place, sounds like, Colleen. 🙂
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And it’s tossed well by the wind!
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We had sleet since the Lake Erie effect kept our snow level away. Nothing stuck, so~ no snow so far! ha ha! It is nice and temperate this evening, Mark.
I loved the pink roses amidst the garden which is trying to hang in there, Mark!
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Thanks, Robin. We always get lake effect off Ontario, so the nice weather this weekend surprised me. 🙂
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pleasingly schizo, describes it perfectly. we are in limbo, as are the plants, and waiting for the blanket to come. as you know, we had a bit of snow on halloween, but it was gone the next day and moved back into the 50s. and i’m happy for that )
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I hope your snow respite last awhile, Beth. Remember last winter. Snow and brrrrrrrrrrr. !!!
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A bit of blooming still here in Houston, Chum. I’m envious of the snow, but don’t tell anyone who’s shoveling snow. They take it badly. 🙂
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Yeah, thin skin, we have, which makes the cold and snow worse, Red. 🙂 You can hope for some down there, but …
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The flowers in my gnome garden have now been replaced by silk ones….it looked soooo depressing from a distance so I had to improvise. Hobby Lobby/Silk Flowers!
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I like your spur-of-the-moment color transplantation, my friend. You are the silk cat’s pajamas, Jolene, flower style. Gnome run!
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no snow – long may that be!
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Good for you in London, Rachel. Long may you run without falling down in the snow. 🙂
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My first post for November included a weather report for the Los Angeles area. We don’t usually get snow in the lower elevations but the mountains around here do. I am originally from Northern California and it gets colder up there. I am not used to the cold any more. Glad I do not have to shovel snow. We got our first rain the other night which is wonderful because we have a drought in California.
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I am rooting for rain your way, Deborah. My dear wife Karen is a SoCal girl, so I know of which you speak from hearing her talk of the days.
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I moved from New England to San Francisco to get away from snow and ice and freezing winter temperatures. I have had to shovel plenty of snow in my many days on this planet and if I never have to shovel snow again, that will be just fine with me. It’s going into the mid-60s today in San Francisco and it is expected to reach the low 70s by Wednesday. And there are plenty of flowers still in bloom here, as there are pretty much all year round. As long as the earth doesn’t quake, I’m happy here.
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Great scenario for you, Doobster. Foggie sometimes, though, huh? I hope your temperate zone stays steady. No quaking.
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I don’t mind the fog at all. It’s kind of soothing. Earthquakes, on the other hand….
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There is never enough snow for me. And I have the misfortune to live in Oklahoma, so winter is a sad time. But my dream college at the moment is Newhouse in Syracuse, partly because it’s an excellent journalism school, but also because of the copious amounts of snow you guys get.
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You and your dreams of snowy white and the Newhouse School are most welcome, ATP. If you come, we will have to meet in person for a cup of coffee.
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We have snow now, started on the weekend and is staying on the ground. Yay! NOT. 🙂
Diana xo
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Sticking and stuck in Calgary, Alberta, huh, Diana. And you are, well. stuck, too. Sorry. 😦
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One day Mark. One day I’m gonna live in San Diego or right on Venice Beach!
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I love your One Day Dream, Diana! Karen and I have a Couple Months Away To Warm Every Year Dream.
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I love that dream too!
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Our roses did this too–both the meidland mini shrub roses and the knockouts my wife put around the patio–a flush of blooms that lasted several days before the deer found them. First snow arrived early Sunday morning, with a frost hard enough to brown the asparagas to follow. No more roses, I suspect.
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Thanks for reporting in, Chuck, and letting me know that it happened to your place, too. The deer were fed before the first snow. Fragrant belly full.
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A perfect winter for me would be this – snow like hell on Dec 24th, stay cold on the 25th, and then a freak heat wave that melts it all on the 26th. Sadly that ain’t gonna happen.
But yes, we’ve had some cold temps already but there are still some flowers blooming here. We’re getting a proper autumn this year so the trees are quite lovely.
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I’m with you on short and sweet, Mama, and also on Ain’t Gonna Happen. Oy. Glad you have quite lovely autumn nevertheless.
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They have snow in Canada it won’t be long.
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Yes, soon enough, Kim.
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No snow here, but we had our first good rainfall, which we need desperately.
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I’m glad you got your rain in Cali, Dora. Yay.
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I am not familiar with your word “snow” and barely familiar with “rain,” although it is predicted manana. I think this is the first time I can agree with your phrase “pleasingly schizo.” Actually makes sense. We’ve still got flowers but some autumnal colors as well. The humidity is less, so I have nice, sleek hair today! So you are a very snowy city? Are you a Syracusian? Is that the term? Here it’s Austinite.
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I was born a Brooklynite and then became a Long Islander but have been a Syracusan for 32 years, Kerbey. I’m glad that you, Austinite, are enjoying autumnal color and nice, sleek hair today. Post a picture of both, why don’t you? 🙂
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Nice try. Then I’d have to Photoshop out all the fat. Maybe once the holiday season is over…
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You doth protest too much, my friend. You are not.
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The roses are still blooming though we had our first frost warning last night. Yesterday’s high was in the 40s, today near 60, moving up to 70 through the week. Typical “autumn” in Virginia.
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I like the sound of that, Jeanette. Sigh.
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No snow. No snow. Repeat after me: NO SNOW. Okay, now that we have the powerful incantation out of the way….yes, my garden is glorious right now. I have an abundance of fall-blooming stuff just blooming its head off. And I’m loving every day that it lasts. And roses are sooo much tougher than they look, aren’t they? Enjoy them.
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I am enjoying them, Barbara. Every whiff. You and yours, too, I can tell. Yay fall flowers. 🙂
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Answers to today’s questions, Mark: Yes, (flowers still blooming) no (it doesn’t surprise me), yes (FIRST SNOW YESTERDAY!?!??!#$#%!!), nothing (to prepare since I never feel prepared, wait, I guess I have prepared, but I don’t want to think about it, because none of the snow stuck and it’s sunny and dry outside right now), zero snow (is quite enough, at this point in my life, thank you).
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Yes, snow is an evil to me in many ways, Ann. And yet I live in Syracuse. Sigh.
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Sigh from Boston, Mark.
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Pretty and very autumn looking. 🙂
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Thank you, PJ. I appreciate it.
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No snow here in Ottawa yet Mark. Hopefully it will hold off for while yet – but I wouldn’t bet. I don’t engage in any winter games, so i’d be happy if we had just ebough snow to make it look pretty and protect the plants.
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I like looking at the first snow, Paul. After that, eh. After the eh, ick. After the ick, %#@$%X+! I hope Ottawa gets little, for your sake.
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I must say I know I am in the category of the top 100 metropolitan snowy areas. So you have my sympathies. I’m right there with you. And yes, I have the same phenomenon in my gardens, roses still trying to bloom while all else around them are dying back and spent leaves accumlate in anything that catches them. This past weekend we had snow sprinkles and I said NO NO NO ….. NOT YET! Soon enough for all that white jazz, right, Mark? You have a wonderful day, my friend! Happy Monday! Love, Amy
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Thanks, Amy. Everywhere Karen and I drove in Syracuse, we saw the roses blooming. It is so odd. Maybe every year. I just don’t recall it as so. 🙂
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No it is odd this year, Mark. You are not hallucinating. This is your reality check. 🙂
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Oh, how I wish it would snow! Of course, I’m in the South, so I don’t get to see snow often enough for my liking. We got 7 inches of wonderful snow last year, and I thought I would just pop from the glee of it all. 😀 Alas, all we’ve seen so far is a wee bit of frost…even that is pretty early for around here. Enjoy your snow when it arrives! 😀
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Nerd, I hope you get your foot of white stuff this winter, so you an revel in it. When I lived in Maryland, that was enough to keep everybody happy … and sliding around the roads, too. Actually, the ice storms down there were the more dangerous of the two, but that was 32 years ago, so the climate had not yet changed, nor had my memory started to get a tad hazy … I’ll enjoy the first snow when it comes, unless it hits in blizzard proportions as it appeared to get Austin in Maine yesterday.
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