The weather has been unseasonably warm. Over Christmas I asked The Deer Hunter if he was ready to plant the garden since it felt more like late spring outside than late December.
A couple of weeks ago we got our annual load of wood delivered.
A friend of the family, actually he feels more like family and almost is in a roundabout way does brush and right-away clearing for a living. Through the year he always ends up with trees he had to take down in the process.
Getting him to deliver a load of cut up logs is much cheaper than purchasing firewood that has already been split.
I always feel better once the wood is piled up outside, even though there’s still the splitting to do at least it’s handy when the cold wind blows.
But this year it doesn’t look like the cold wind is going to blow.
Our unusually warm temperatures are going to cause things to start blooming if the weather doesn’t change.
One of my favorite old pieces of folklore is: flowers which bloom out of season are evil. Silly I know. I suppose that’s why I like it 🙂
Another piece of folklore with a similar intonation: trees that bloom twice in one year will have a bad crop.
A piece of folklore I love to see come true every winter is: a snowy winter portends a good year for crops.
I’m hoping our weather pattern changes so flowers and trees will stay un-bloomed and I’ll get to make at least one bowl of snow cream.
Last night’s video: Old Fashioned Chocolate Cream Pie in Appalachia.
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I live in Northeast Georgia and the weather here has been gorgeous. I’ve loved the warmer temperatures and the way I could get my greenery gathered and decorations up outside. I try to not complain about the weather because God is in control of it. If man controlled the weather, what a mess it certainly would be. God knows best and I’m so glad He provides what we need, when we need it. I’ve needed these pretty days and have truly enjoyed this Christmas Season.
We plan to make some corn bread, blackeyed peas and meat of some kind, probably pork or corned beef) for our meal on New Year’s Day. We may also go out and throw some pennies in the yard for good luck
Our family, most of whom call Maryland and North Carolina (Asheville and Black Mountain) home now. wish all the Blind Pigs and followers of Tipper’s blog a very happy and prosperous New Year, and we pray that God’s grace will be felt in every aspect of your lives in the New Year. We remain thankful for the Appalachian culture, including the good recipes, stories and music, that you’ve shared with us.
When I was little my mother wouldn’t make snow cream from the first snow. Everybody thought it was full of nuclear fallout from across the mountain at Oak Ridge. The first snow cleared the air therefore the rest of the snows would be safe to eat. That was then, this is now. The first snow is usually the only one, if we get one at all.
People used to say if it started snowing while there was still snow on the ground it was going to be a big one. True or not it happened a lot when I was young. It snowed sometimes twice a week and there was snow on the ground for months. Everybody kept chains in their cars. I went to school on a bus that was chained up. Remember that was only a few miles from you and about 30 years before you were born. I agree the climate is changing and I’m all for it.
PS: I do hope you get your snow this winter!
Make that 20 years! I’m old but I ain’t that old.
I’m about 20 miles south of Raleigh and it has been like spring this week. My clematis are confused…one vine is blooming.
Warm weather this time of year confuses my honey bees, they think it’s early spring and react accordingly. The worker bees use energy foraging but can’t find any nectar so they eat more of their stored honey. The queen starts laying eggs. Then when it turns cold the bees cluster inside the hive around the eggs and larvae to keep them warm and will not move 10 inches to eat, so they starve. But, this has all happened many times before.
I was clearing the last of the leaves from the yard yesterday and saw buttercups/daffodils about 2-3 inches high. We are new to this county and neighbors tell us that Winter here is January through March.
I have no doubt that we’ll get our cold weather in the upcoming weeks.
Hi Tipper, Here in NW Montana, we are getting our fair share of snow! I`ll send some your way!!! : ) I haven`t heard of these sayings. I love to learn about history and different cultures. Thank you so very much for sharing your life and home with us!!! I hope we all have a great new year… I think we all need it! Watching your videos and reading your blog… makes me homesick, I don`t know if that makes any sense, but, there it is. : ) Thank you again!!! God Bless you and your family!!!
In Indiana where I live, the weather has also been quite warm I too feel as if my family should be planting our garden and the flowers should be peeking out of the soil soon! I like that about flowers being evil if they bloom out of season; I never though of that before!
My Grandmaw Townsend used to say if we heard thunder in the winter, we would have snow within 10 days. Us kids would just jump up and down if we heard thunder and wait anxiously for that snowfall. (usually didn’t happen)
Tipper, I just want you to know what a joy your videos are! They somehow bring me comfort. Thank You!!
Have you ever heard thunder during a snowstorm? Nowadays, most folks are tucked up warm inside during a snowstorm and probably wouldn’t hear the thunder because all the snow in the air muffles the sound making it lose any sense of direction from whence it comes. As a boy I delivered morning newspapers, in all weathers including snowstorms and hurricanes. I can remember a day trudging through foot deep snow for hours and hearing thunder several times that day. Thunderstorms are rare in NC at 4:00 to 6:00 am; so I never had to worry about lightning much.
I was a church secretary for 40 years. I remember we had an Associate Pastor that always said we needed one good snow to kill all the germs! I like the change of seasons. But we know the Lord gives us what we need, every day! Chocolate pie was beautiful and I know delicious! Take care and God bless!
I forgot to say Mother’s dishpan of Fresh Snow Cream is also a comfort dream of mine. She used a can of carnation milk in hers. It was so good!
I feel the Good Lord speaks to us through the weather, like He says He will. That’s what the saying means. “flowering out of season is evil”. It just means unseasonable things are signs for us to check if we are slipping in our hearts and forgetting the Lord. Which is a pretty sweet way to get corrected! He said as long as we see a rainbow in the sky the seasons will continue, so let’s pray to see that in 2022. Peace and goodwill to all.
Our weather here in SC PA has been I think the warmest December so I was shocked when I got up this past Monday morning looked outside to green grass and an hour later I did a double-take as snow was coming down so hard that it was almost a white out. Weather news had said the northern part of the state would get some snow but we were not expecting it. Temperature came up though and our maybe 1 inch of snow is gone with warmer temps on the way but we are warned that colder weather is coming next week. I know our farmers and the Amish in Lancaster, PA., always like a blanket of snow over their fields. I’ve been told the end of March or early April they want an onion snow over their fields as I guess it is good to get moisture in before they head out with their teams of horses to turn over the soil and get it ready to plant.
When I saw that Old Fashioned Chocolate Creme Pie my mouth started to water:) My Mother made the best Chocolate Creme Pie and after seeing you make yours I’m going to look up Mother’s recipe but I think it is exactly the same as yours. I did know you would need more than two egg whites to get those fluffy waves of meringue:) My Mother learned to cook from her Mother and I’m sure my Grandmother learned from her Mother. They all were good cooks. If I’m not feeling good in the winter, I wish for a bowl of my Mother’s vegetable soup. She always canned a big batch when the tomatoes, okra and corn were ready to harvest.
By the way, Tipper, in your video there are times you will say look in the description to see the recipe, etc.,, I probably don’t know my way around on utube but where is the description as I couldn’t find it?
Dee-the description is just below the video. But the recipes are all here somewhere on the Blind Pig 🙂 So you an use the search feature on the right of the page to find them here 🙂
Tipper, thanks so much!!! My goodness, all I had to do was click on SHOW MORE under the information you provide on the video and it gives the link to the recipe.
Dee, I have always heard that snow puts nitrogen in the ground. If this true this may be the reason the Amish farmers want the snow. I have also enjoyed the warm weather in upstate South Carolina. I was raised in church and still go, many times I have heard preachers preach about the end of time and one of the signs would be not being able to tell the seasons from one another. Along with the other things going on, it sometimes makes me think about this.
Randy, that probably is true. At one time, I know Amish country in Lancaster, PA., had some of the richest soil in the country. It always gives me peace when I remember who is really in control, as we are only passing through.
Perfectly worded Kim. Thank you. The world seems upside down these days. But we know God is always in control on earth as it is in heaven!
In Columbia, SC you never know what the weather is going to be like in January and February! I Like it like that. Some days are really warm I do know what the weather will be like here in July and August – very hot! Dennis Morgan
Weather can be fickle. Here in central Texas, our high on Saturday will be 77 and the low 24.
The weather graphic showed a weather graphic of highs and lows for the coming week. Overnight low Friday/Saturday is supposed to be 59°F but the low the following night is forecast to be 24°F. This will be a blue norther for sure.
I’ve live in NC for 35 years and is my forever home while living on this earth. We love NC! It was a big change moving here from WV, which one usually has bad winters, sometimes starting in October or November. Our first year here they had their first really bad snow storm and our neighbors told us jokingly that we brought the snow with us. They were thrilled, I was not. We moved here to get away from all the bad snowstorms. Since that first year of moving here I never knew how to switch out our clothes closet. My neighbor told me she never switched out her clothes closet until January. As years went by, I too learned to keep out all seasons of clothes until January. I have come to accept that in the Piedmont area and below to SC one can expect to have all four seasons in a week, if not in a day. Leave out in early morning and you have to layer up with 38-40 degree temps, then it warms up throughout the day and by late afternoon it’s in the 70’s. One just peels off the layers as it warms up. We’ve had over the years had a surprise snow fall in December, but not like the Mountain area of NC. For the Piedmont area February is truly when winter sets in and it might be some snow, but mostly a lot of ice, which is way worse in my opinion. Cold winter weather is coming, but until then, enjoy the days we have.
I hate a long winter of ice and snow. I know the dislike is from walking to school 2miles with not enough winter clothes. But as a mom of four living in Central VA. for almost 50 years, I did love to make snow cream. I look forward to making it this winter…but just once. I have a mid January birthday and never got to go to school on my birthday. My dad hated a warm winter, said we needed cold to kill the bugs off.. I always appreciated the rare warm spells in winter as it made the walking and working easier…especially hanging out the laundry .
I used to write a weekly column for a Central VA. newspaper and one winter I wrote
to folks….well, may your woodpile be large and your underwear be long!!!
Good luck on that snowcream!
Here in KY, we have broken weather records for a week as the thermometer has reached close to 80 degrees a few times. I have been seeing more shoppers in shorts and tees than sweaters and jackets. December tornados and lilacs blooming during Christmas week reminds me how daddy worried about weather changes and old-timey folklore.
According to Alexa, right now, at 4 AM, it is 71°, expect a high of 80°. That is normal for the time of year. But then again,
this is Hawaii!
I’m not asking ANY questions about this fantastic weather. In WV I’m snagging this up!!! It seldom occurs so I’m sitting here with my windows and door open at 8 am on Dec. 29!!!! Don’t you snow birds cry just yet because winter officially just started about a week ago. Wooly worms predicted a bad winter so I’m believing them. Winter really doesn’t kick in til late January and February and the blizzard of ‘92 or ‘93 was late in March or April thereabouts and it was awful! People were walking to friends and family houses through 2 feet deep snow because the cabin fever and isolation was getting to them. I pray you get your snow cream and get to enjoy it several occasions to come!!! Cheer up y’all cause winter is just getting warmed up here so to speak! The old man winter will surely come with a vengeance so wait for him and enjoy this nice break. One thing I never do is question WONDERFUL!!!! Don’t get depressed for the electric and gas companies are feeling the pain of low utilities! It’s enough to make me dance and laugh!!!
The weather is fickle here in Indiana. In fact we’re known for it. Many times I’ve driven to work in the morning with the heater and defroster on, but had the air conditioning on when driving home. I learned that historically we only have a one-in-seven chance of snow for Christmas. This year was unseasonably warm. It’s not uncommon to have a cold snap in the spring though. I’ve seen it freeze when most things are budded out. It’s very hard on our peach trees when that happens. But when all’s said and done, it’s a good place to live.
Hi, Brad! Any connection to the Byers folks w nc or n ga?
Thanks! Don Byers
I’m not sure, Don. I’d like to know. It’s not a very common name here.
I like the seasons to be ‘seasonal’ also. But the warm weather Christmas week was a blessing in being able to get out hiking and playing in the yard with our grandson. I keep an off-and-on diary and saw that Dec. 26, 2019 had a high of about 71 F here. Usually our coldest is in the first 10-15 days of January so we’ll soon find out.
We have a few blooms on our ‘burning bush’ which is normal. I can bring some twigs in and the fat buds will open in the warm. However, they will not be the deep red of spring but mostly white with some shell pink. I’m wondering just what causes that.
Texas weather is beyond bizarre. Tee shirts and shorts on Christmas day and stuff is started to sprout and the Pansey’s are panting. if we don’t get a hard freeze in January or February the bugs are going to be nasty come spring. Oh well Happy New Year to you and your family.
I’m with you, Tipper. I hope we get some snow so we can have some snow cream! God is so good to us. He has brought us through another year and I know He will be with us each day of the new one!
This weather feels creepy to me. It’s just wrong for it to be so warm this time of year. The weather gets confused, and everything gets confused with it!
God is Good All The Time ! Even when we don’t understand what’s going on. Happy New Year ❤
It’s been warm here in Oklahoma as well, the local weather man said we’ll likely have the warmest December on record.
It has been warm here in North Carolina. I saw it is supposed to be in the 40s on Monday, though. I see videos and pictures of snow from Minneapolis, and other northern states, and I think those are scenes from years past. My mind thinks everyone is having a warm winter so far like we are. When I lived in Iowa for a few years, it seemed February was always the coldest month. When I moved back to San Diego, I found myself putting off inside projects, thinking “I’ll get to this when it is too cold to be outside”. It never gets too cold to be outside in San Diego! So even though I have lived here in North Carolina for 5 1/2 years now (unbelievable), my mind has not adjusted to it should be colder right now. These mid 70s and warmer temps feel normal to me for winter. I am like you, though, I want winter to visit before spring!
Donna. : )