This time last year we had this: January 18th 2013-what difference to 2014! ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) January 18th 2013-what difference to 2014! ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) January 18th 2013-what difference to 2014! ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) and yesterday: Not mine but just a few yards down the road. Flowers in January 2104! ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) Flowers in January 2104! ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) Beautiful lichen January 17th 2014 ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) January 17th 2014 ( photo / image / picture from Kiasmum's Garden ) What a crazy world!
There's been such a contrast between 2013 and 2014 as your photographs show. I think many people would rather have had some snow though than the flooding they've had to experience. I wonder what next winter will throw at us?
We have had two cold winters in a row (cold for our part of Texas, when it gets down to 20 at night and barely above freezing for several days). I'm beginning to think someone lied to me about Texas' climate . . . .
Yeah,'cold' isn't a word that springs to mind when I think about Texas . I agree Eileen. It wouldn't be so bad but the constant grey sky is depressing and I expect that the water companies will be warning against droughts within a few months... Exactly the opposite situation Netty.
But Jane, this is our climate in Texas. You really never know what winter will be like...snow, ice, rain, dry as a bone or warm with roses in full bloom. There have been winters when I wore flannel and thermal clothes for almost 3 months straight and some where the roses were blooming and I was wearing shorts and t-shirts all three of the months officially labeled as winter. Summer is much easier to predict, hot and dry.
Toni, when I was sitting in upstate NY, I was told by someone who had visited Houston once what Texas was like. Have you seen one of those John Wayne westerns that were filmed in Arizona? Well, that was Texas, according to this expert (obviously she was in a very different part of Houston). So, I was expecting cacti, tumbleweed, and sand when we got off the plane. I was thrilled to see green in February, and to find out that gardens grew here in Central Texas. However, no one warned me about cold temperatures. Perhaps I wasn't lied to, just not told the whole truth!
Here in NE Texas we rarely have more than a few weeks of cold, and generally it only lasts a few days at a time. Average temps here are 40ish. Last night 32 degrees and todays high 65. Its windy but sunshine all day. Had to throw some lettuce seeds out!
Kiasmum, I have a plethera of clear sunny days I will gladly share with you. One city about 2 hours northwest of me has aleady gone to Stage 4- Drought Disaster conditions for the longterm. It's amazing how many people around the world get their opinion of Texas from either the John Wayne movies or the TV show Dallas....neither of which was filmed on location except for a some out door stock footage and the X-Files movie showed us as dry, lifeless desert outside the Dallas city limits. We have so few really cold days and what seems like thousands of really hot ones each year, most visitors miss the day or two of winter we have.
Toni,I'm sure that most if not all the Brits here in the Stew would be delighted to swap some of our rain for some of your sunshine. If only it was that simple... It was only a couple of years ago that most of the southern UK was under water restriction as the reservoirs were running low-I think at the time some bright spark suggested that the rain was falling in the wrong areas Karin
Karin--Your photos of this day 1 year ago could have been taken outside my door this morning. I went to yoga class this AM & when I came out, we had 3" of snow. It now is up to 8". Your photos of this year are lovely. & I appreciate the shots of your Sammies. I grew up with one, and my brother has had a string of them. Great dogs. I love their way of 'talking'.
Karin, Lucky you, with the nice weather! January in my area can be very unpredictable. It is very much winter, and mostly cold and drab. So far, the snow we've had was in December and is all gone. The temps have been cold, and the winds have been very strong. But right now, it is 60°F. Quite unusual, and tomorrow could be 30 to 40 degrees cooler!! I personally, would like to see some more snow here. We need the moisture, and it is so much prettier than dried up brown earth and dormant grass and plants. Enjoy the days, and the greenies sprouting!
Thanks Kay,when I see the weather that the rest of the world has to put up with we are actually very lucky here in the Uk-no extremes(well not thus far anyway) and no earthquakes or volcanic activity. I love to see the new year's shoots Fingers crossed you get your snow.
That's difference all right. Last winter lasted for 6 months, with hard frosts, nearly no snow and a couple of mild weeks in November and January. This winter just started. A little frost in October, just to kill all the late bloomers, then wind and rain, and now a little sprinkle of snow and a little bit of frost but nothing like last winter at all. I hope for an early spring.
Hi Karin,..great comparison in years,..its similar here,..however i am keeping my fingers crossed until after March as we often had snow around St Patrick's Day,..part of a poem,.."nor shall he know when loud March blows through slanting snows her fanfare shrill".
