In Alabama and all across the south, spring is a mixed bag of warm, cool, cold and even hot (especially hot) weather. After weeks of warm weather with leaves on the trees and GREEN as far as the eye can see, the only words James Spann (local weathergod) can come up with for this oddly COLD weekend is:
"Blackberry Winter"
According to Wikipedia, Blackberry Winter is a is a colloquial expression referring to a period of cool or cold weather arriving in late spring often when blackberries are blooming.
North Alabama even got some light frost! And all across the central regions of Alabama, the words "record low maximum temperatures" were uttered. I'm +40 years old -- never heard that before and had to think twice what the hell they were talking about. What it means is it is dang cold here with highs more typical for the first week of March than the first week of May. I think we reached a cloudy, cool and at times, rainy, 59-60 degrees both Saturday and Sunday. We have already seen 85+ degrees with 78-80 being normal. This cool weather will get your attention.
I don't know about blackberries, but the blueberry bushes are in full bloom, and some birds have already raised and fledged the first nest of youngsters. And the potatoes?
North Alabama even got some light frost! And all across the central regions of Alabama, the words "record low maximum temperatures" were uttered. I'm +40 years old -- never heard that before and had to think twice what the hell they were talking about. What it means is it is dang cold here with highs more typical for the first week of March than the first week of May. I think we reached a cloudy, cool and at times, rainy, 59-60 degrees both Saturday and Sunday. We have already seen 85+ degrees with 78-80 being normal. This cool weather will get your attention.
I don't know about blackberries, but the blueberry bushes are in full bloom, and some birds have already raised and fledged the first nest of youngsters. And the potatoes?
I've read that potatoes enjoy cool weather and perform best if set early enough to benefit from it. Well, they look really happy as I shiver and look for the jackets already stored for the summer. I've had to pile on more hay two times now to keep up with all the growth on top. I don't know what is going on with the business end up under the hay, but maybe we will have them in time for a 4th of July red potato salad and BBQ picnic.
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