November 15, 1018 – Snow – a bit early . . .

         I padded to the door in my rag wool socks to let the dog out this morning.  No, I had not heard the school bus go down the road yet and I had not paid attention to the time.  I was only paying attention to my dog dancing in a circle wanting to go out. 

         Surprise, I’ve about a half inch of snow or what looks more like wet snow or better described as SLUSH on the front steps and in my flower beds.  That is a first - usually the non-sound of snow coming down wakes me up. [See March 12, 2017, blog about the stillness of fallen snow.]

         Snow on November 15^th seems early to me.  We usually have our serious killing frost in November [Even though the garden magazines tell us it is back in early October . . . many years we can slip past those if we protect/cover something we want for a few more weeks as I do.]  

         But, last week the Persian Shield, Strobilanthese dyerianus, turned to stalks of black hanging leaves. It had managed the light and heavy frosts since October.  Now it looks like a hulking black ghost standing in a pot at the corner of the patio.  It has given me a bit of a start when I sweep open the sliding glass door drapes this last week.  Every wet morning for the last several mornings, I’ve mentally told myself – go out and snip that thing down and cut down the rest of the frosted-mush plants or attend to my end-of-fall clean up.  For the last several days it has rained and I’ve peered out on many occasions and opted for the warmth and comfort of my easy chair and a good book.

         The dog came in, wet, I wiped him down and the bus must have been on delayed status – it came after 8:00 a.m.  I have things to do today “uptown” as I revert to my childhood nomenclature.  I hope the temperature rises quickly to clear the roads.

         If it would just stop raining; I have the frosted Banana tree, Musa basjoo, to cut down as well.  It is a bigger job every year, but my husband adores that plant and I don’t know why.  Does he imagine he is in a jungle when he is watering it? Does he expect a wild tiger to poke it’s head out and look at him?  I don’t know – but that is for another blog someday.

         I can’t remember the last time it has snowed this early . . . I try to flip back in my memory.  I wonder – and yes, I searched the internet and up popped a North Carolina Climate Office with a Winter Storm Database.  The link is below, A few notes from scanning some of the history for Rutherford County, North Carolina:  Earliest snow fall since I’ve lived in the county – 1985.

         November 2, 1999

         November 6, 1998

         November 11, 1995

         November 17, 2002

         November 18, 2000

         November 21, 2005

         November 25, 2013*

         These are in date order, but the last one was 5 years ago and closer to Thanksgiving Day.  Yes, the data reminds me we have had earlier snows, but then again, my last recollection was more towards the end of November.  I best locate my boots for today’s errands.

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         Check out the North Carolina Climate Office website – below is the link to the Winter Storm Database – all counties from January 1, 1968 through June 17, 2017 – done by county maps marked red -  [Tip – you’ve got to know the location and shape of your county or you are sunk.]  It is an interactive map – nifty!

http://climate.ncsu.edu/climate/winter/search_results?county=all&start_month=1&start_day=1&start_year=1968&end_month=6&end_day=17&end_year=2017&page=7