Is it really April?
he song says " when April showers come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May so when it's raining, Have no regret " (but we're not getting rain you know We're getting snow here yet .) Mother Nature's defied us. The seasons a fright . The violets are hiding, the green grass is white. Below are some views of the 2 inch icy coating after 24 hours of freezing rain and 20 degrees.
April 4th 2003
This was followed by another 24 hours of freezing rain, sleet and heavy winds.
April 5th 2003
I went out to take pictures of the massive destruction we had over night. The ice was so heavy and wind gusting so hard that all of a sudden it sounded like I was in the middle of an artillery attack. You could see the tree limbs falling over a quarter of a mile away while the noise was frightful. Cracking and crashing, one after another. When the branch fell on the wire almost directly over my head I ran for the house. Safety won out over great pictures. We were very lucky. None of our huge maples fell on the house. Our electricity was only out for 23 hours. Many of our neighbors had none for over 3 days as the companies struggled to clear fallen wires and tree limbs from the roads, fields and woods. There were even a few poles down.
April 8th It happened again, freezing temps and 3 inches of wet heavy snow. Is there no end ?
I finally got out to photograph some of the terrible destruction from the April 5th storm. Following are pictures of a reforested area that was planted by the high school Future Farmers of America, working with the NY State conservation Dept. Our son Louis was one of the young men who planted these trees in 1971. These pictures do not truly show the total devastation of thousands of trees that looked like they were sheared off by helicopter blades on the top. Acres of fallen limbs on the ground, trees uprooted from the weight of the ice. It broke my heart to see this.
A willow on the edge of our town park with it's lost limb.
More of April 2003
We had one day of sunshine and 80 degrees followed by a
high of 60 the following day thought spring had finally graced us with
her presence. The birds were singing. The peepers were peeping. Over
night the temperature plunged to the 20's again. It's not April Fools day,
so what is this? It's April 23rd. Guess what we woke up to this morning?
28 degrees and yes,that's right, SNOW. Believe it or not'
Here it is !!!
11:46 PM April 23rd 2003. Two inches on the ground
and still snowing. So what can we expect in May ???
It's April 26th & Miracles do happen.
Tra la la la la, tra la la la la, Oh welcome the flowers of spring."
With breezes warm , with April rain & birds that gaily sing.
These valiant blossoms pushed their graceful heads through
a thick blanket of leaves & braved ice, wind & snow.
Now they are here in all their splendor gracing us with their beauty
Daffodils have taken over and cheerfully brighten any scene
The Beautiful Month of May
When the sun shines and flowers bloom.
Here are some of my wild favorites
Bloodroot in full bloom
Trillium
Dutchman's Breeches
Oh the beauty of natures rebirth
from the earliest buds in the spring
Their delicate petals unfurling
such a miraculous thing.
A myriad of shapes and colors
form a bountiful bouquet
waking up each dawn to greet us
bringing cheer to every day.
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