Wayne Hinshaw: Warm weather coaxing flowers into bloom; it’s just not normal
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Daffodils around a grave marker in Chestnut Hill Cemetery. Wayne Hinshaw/for the Salisbury Post
Wild violets are popping up in yards in Rowan County. Wayne Hinshaw/for the Salisbury Post
Pink flowers are in full bloom at the corner of West Innes and South Fulton streets. Wayne Hinshaw/for the Salisbury Post
Peach tree buds are fattening up with the warm temperatures this past week. Wayne Hinshaw/for the Salisbury Post
Driving around Salisbury on Saturday, it was easy to observe that the warm weather is not normal for February. When you change from coats and caps to shorts and T-shirts in February, it’s just not normal. It’s not the right time.
Last February, the weather did the same thing. It got warm. Flowers and fruit trees bloomed, and then it got cold again, freezing the plants.
It’s just not normal.
My mind knows it is winter, but my heart thinks it is spring. It’s just not normal.
Mother Nature is surely playing winter games with us. I love the temperature in the 70-degree range or even the low 80s in February.
It’s just not normal.
I know the plants will suffer when more cold temperatures return. It’s just too early for these warm temperatures. I’m not supposed to be seeing weeds in flower beds this early.
It’s just not normal.
I hope the animals won’t shed their winter coats of fur and long hair. Will this warm weather make me sick? It feels so good for now, but will I suffer next week or the week after and be sick?
It’s just not normal.
The days are getting longer so we have more daylight. If it ever stops raining, we will have more sunshine. With more daylight and sunshine, the birds will be singing more. They must think it is springtime.
It’s just not normal.
With all of our surroundings in full bloom, it is hard to tell if it is winter or spring. Bright yellow forsythia bushes are blooming all over. The red-flowering quince catches our attention. The large tulip magnolia blooms hang heavy, making tree limbs bow over from the weight.
Daffodils have popped up everywhere. They circle mailbox posts. They line our hallways. They decorate around grave markers in Chestnut Hill Cemetery. The grass is still brown, but the daffodil stems are deep green and the blooms are bright yellow.
It’s just not normal.
It is too early. We are supposed to be planning our gardens, not planting them.
The pink blooms of the ornamental cherry trees provide a canopy of beauty for us to walk beneath. In a week or so the trees will drop their blooms and provide us a carpeted walkway of pink covering the sidewalk.
It’s just not normal in February. But wait!
What is normal anyway? Maybe, just maybe this is the new normal.
Enjoy your spring beauty in the plants around us, in February, now. Most likely this is our spring.
But it’s just not normal.
