Warm and wet is whole lot better than cold and wet.  Somehow I think the proper order of the universe has returned when the temperatures on the North Carolina coast are at sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit and Halifax, Nova Scotia is waking up to thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.

For much of February we would wake up and the whole east coast even farther north than Halifax would be at the same temperature.  There is just something wrong about Canada being as warm as the North Carolina coast in the winter.

I lived in Canada for sixteen years, and I can remember seeing snow in the fields on our farm in May.    Our strawberries would ripen in July.  Here on the coast, we can see berries ripe the last of March and almost certainly they are ripe by the middle of April.
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As I walked to the end of the driveway for our newspaper, I could hardly hear myself think for all the birds chirping. I am going to take that as a positive sign that my mind over weather campaign is working.

Even Accuweather is saying that we are going to have a nice weekend here in Eastern North Carolina. Having some seventy degree temperatures in March is a birthright in North Carolina.

Yesterday morning after having a very nice breakfast at Ballyhoo's, I went for a quick hike to the sound on the Emerald Woods Trail.  I posted a couple of pages of pictures that I took there.
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Sometimes you just have fight with the only tools that you have.  When weather is your opponent, about the only that works is an unrelenting focus on that positive result or spring in our case.

I am only seeking one thing, the complete defeat and retreat of winter. Though we have not endured all the snow that many locations have seen this year,  we have seen our normally mild temperatures completely routed by cold air from the north.

Somehow seeing our warm beaches turn cold is worse than seeing deeper snow fall in the mountains.

Yesterday we decided to start doing some spring things in the hope that spring might follow our actions, or at least we might push winter out of our minds.

So for our first effort, we went out for breakfast.  Usually winter keeps us close to home in the morning, but the lure of a new breakfast place, Ballyhoos, and the hope that spring might feel closer if we enjoyed breakfast at a restaurant was enough motivation to get us across the bridge to Emerald Isle.
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This winter is one where you have to enjoy your dry moments and blue skies whenever you have a chance.  Yesterday, I had a number of errands to get done, but I could not resist stopping in Swansboro and taking this picture of the White Oak River.

The day was beautiful and the blue skies were irresistible.  It could have warmer, but given what we have endured in temperatures this year, yesterday's fifty degrees Fahrenheit was tolerable.

This winter has been cold enough that one of my fishing buddies has been grumbling about moving to Florida.  I just read that Florida has had its coldest winter in thirty years.  That should either keep him in North Carolina or send him to Mexico.
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Okay, I have had it with winter.  This morning it was about 34 degrees Fahrenheit when I got up here in Bluewater Cove on the White Oak River.

Last year on the same day we woke up to 56 degrees Fahrenheit.  For anyone who has forgotten, at the time we thought last year's winter was pretty cold.  In fact three days later we had snow on the ground.

What is really getting to me is that because of the strong winds out of Canada, there is hardly any difference in the morning temperature all along the east coast.  All the way from Beaufort, NC to Halifax, Nova Scotia including Forked River, NJ and Boston, Massachusetts, you will only find a difference of one or two degrees in wake-up temperatures.

That friends is ridiculous. What is the good of living in the south if my morning temperature is the same as Fredericton, New Brunswick which is 1,236 miles north of Cape Carteret?  We both are sitting at 34 degrees Fahrenheit.
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From the water this morning, I would say that the temperatures dipped to freezing last night.

There were just a few patches of slush on the water.  They disappeared quickly, which is no surprise since the temperatures are already up to 45F at 10 AM.

We are supposed to get into the low fifties.  I will take that temperature.  It is better than many places.

The skies are a very deep blue this morning.  That probably has something to do with the extensive low pressure system moving on through Canada.  Back to the west of us, Boone is still at 25F, but to the north of us, Fredericton, New Brunswick is at 34F.

This is just a weird weather year.  I would not be surprised to see another snow storm here on the coast.  Fortunately there is no sign of one today.  The winds have died down so we would be out hiking today except I am all booked up to show property.

A week from Monday here on the coast we should see temperatures in the mid-sixties.  That is getting to the point that we can start enjoying the water a little.  It cannot get here fast enough.

Considering my NJ friend told me that the winds at his home sound like a freight train, I think a complaint about this morning's stiff breeze might sound a little wimpy.

It was a nippy walk out to get the morning's paper, but the sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is shining brightly. The small cattail surrounded pond next door to us did have a skim of ice on it this morning, but it must be fished out since the herons are ignoring it.

I was happy to hear that this latest storm missed Washingotn, DC,  Those poor folks are finally starting to see some results from digging out of their historic winter.  On top of that I have heard their cherry trees have had a tough winter.

New England on the other hand, with the exception of my old boss, has been complaining about the lack of snow.  Likely this week's weather has resolved that problem to at at least a few people's satisfaction.  read more »