SoCS Affirm

Posted on February 2, 2019 by joey

The week is finally over and the crazy cold has gone. It’s 28F/-2C. I’m no meteorologist, but that sounds pretty average to me. All the cold just affirms to me I’m where I should be. I could probably live happily anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon and east of the Mississippi.

Has it been awhile since I gleefully recounted my gratitude to be home? I feel like it has. And yet, this week, every time someone bitched about the weather, I thought, “Meh, it’s as it should be.”

Some winters are brutal, others are mild. The cold should burn your nose several times each winter. I demand snow. I want icicles. Did you know if you live in southeast Georgia for seven years, it may only snow once, and not accumulate? You’d never see an icicle in southeast Georgia. You’d see snow on palm trees, which is pretty cool, but definitely not my idea of snowy trees. Spring here is glorious. Spring tosses up bright, colorful bulbs and green grass. The incredibly verdant splendor of spring makes my heart sing. Every day, something new blooms. Spring in southeast Georgia was just a day when all the azaleas bloomed and I said, “Ooh! Aaah!” and that was that. Spring here is also wet as fuck and brings with it mud, mud, and more mud. There are floods and wet shoes and wet dogs and umbrellas bent over backwards. Fuckin whirlygigs all over the place, rooting to make new trees. Snow and ice still visit us in spring here. When, as I’ve heard this week, Hoosiers say, “That should be the last of it!” in January, I check a box in my brain noting this person is only with us in spirit. Although rare, it has snowed in May where I live. Summer is my least favorite, but then, summer brings all the fruit and fruit is my favorite. Have you even grown tomatoes? Have you ever gorged on watermelon? Pullin stuff outta the garden right and left, like, “LOOK WHAT THE EARTH MADE!” Sunflowers, okay? PETRICHOR. Summer is hot and sticky and full of mosquitoes and sunburn is a health hazard. It gets hot as blazes here, over a hundred some days and you can’t properly enjoy soda or alcohol because you have to drink water all goddamned day just to stay alive. Aggressive fucking YELLOW JACKETS! But we get lightning bugs and majestic thunderstorms, although not at the same time. When I’m red-faced and weak and itchy, I KNOW it won’t last forever. Summer in southeast Georgia is eternal. I arrived in June, did my very best to hibernate, and then when I was putting up my Christmas tree with open windows, I called my mother (Florida native) to ask her when the hell I’d ever be able to wear a sweatshirt. “Maybe February,” she said. I threw out most of my warm clothes when I lived in Georgia. When I left Georgia, I owned 14 pairs of open-toe shoes. As far as I could tell, fall in southeast Georgia simply meant people decorated their houses with things that are organic in Indiana — bales of hay, dried corn, a scarecrow. Everything just turned a darker shade of brown or a lighter shade of tan. Pumpkins couldn’t be out in that heat. Pumpkins were indoor decor, needed the a/c. Wear a tank top, not to the punkin patch, but to the BAMBOO FARM, pick strawberries, not apples, in the fall. And don’t forget the sunscreen! Here in Indiana, fall is idyllic. Fall is spotted with every warm color under the sun. The foliage is spectacular. Everywhere you look it’s orange or yellow or red and this landscape, a green carpet littered with red and orange and yellow against a blue sky, this sight catches your breath in your chest because it’s so incredibly beautiful and you’re in it! Boots! Fall is also wet as fuck here. In the fall, it floods and there are wet shoes and wet dogs and umbrellas bent over backwards. The gutters choke on the beautiful leaves, we slide on the beautiful leaves, and once they’ve sat, heavy and wet, they’re a rusty, murky shade of brown that presents a moldy odor that some of us cannot get enough of. That smell, accompanied by the smell of burning leaves is the quintessential smell of autumn, and for me, sheer bliss. And it might snow. And here, it is always “tornado season.”

If you live in a place like mine, you know. There are extremes in the heights of each season. Each season does what it’s supposed to do and lovers of four-season weather enjoy it for what it is — another passing phase. For people who are truly happy in four seasons, there’s a mentality of adaptability that may well translate outside our ever-changing landscape. Four-season people know how to take the bad with the good, as it seems a small price to pay for snow, but also tulips and tomatoes, and Lord Almighty, have you seen the fall on this place?!?

For other people, not so much. For me, crucial to my well-being. Feast yo eyes.

 

yaaasss, snow, yaaasss

 

can you smell it?
sprout!
taken this morning, in the mad wind

 

clematis
so many ferns
roses

 

 

trees i did not hug because i hugged other trees
trees
“two roads diverged in a yellow wood” and moo asked me to stop reciting poetry
trees

Stream of Consciousness Saturday — SoCS ‘affirm’ is brought to you by LindaGHill

socsnow

About joey

Neurotic Bitch, Mother, Wife, Writer, Word Whore, Foodie and General Go-To-Girl
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70 Responses to SoCS Affirm

  1. JT Twissel says:
    February 2, 2019 at 1:59 PM

    I’m glad the weather is improving – if only a bit. We have two seasons – green and brown. Green is definitely my favorite.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Prior... says:
    February 2, 2019 at 2:05 PM

    sometimes it takes living away to realize how much you appreciate things – like a full four seasons –
    for you it was Georgia and for me it was Florida – and like you, I need “real” sweater weather and snow and cold and ice and deep freezes….
    Also, in your post, I really love how you covered the topic of seasons in thought and in photos.
    and seriously – this quote needs to be put into a little poster:

    “For people who are truly happy in four seasons, there’s a mentality of adaptability that may well translate outside our ever-changing landscape. Four-season people know how to take the bad with the good.”

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Dan Antion says:
    February 2, 2019 at 2:29 PM

    “Meh, it’s as it should be.” – I love that and the rest of this post – and the pics. Thanks for reminding me of the benefits of four-season living and the horror of living in a southern climate.You also have to consider that in SE GA, your dog never gets to run in the snow – that’s truly sad.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. marianallen says:
    February 2, 2019 at 2:35 PM

    Fantastic paean to the Indiana seasons! Most gorgeous photos, too! And HOW I love people who use the word petrichor! 🙂 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  5. eschudel says:
    February 2, 2019 at 2:42 PM

    We here in Victoria don’t see much in the way of seasons, but I can wear sweatshirts pretty much all year round!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. The Snow Melts Somewhere says:
    February 2, 2019 at 3:42 PM

    We’ve had heaps of snow and let me tell you it’s no picnic. Tourists are singing winter wonderland in their instashots but for locals it’s really not fun. For instance pushing a double stroller in snow is already a workout but then when it gets stuck and you need to get to work but are stranded in a snowy un-ploughed park with two toddlers, you feel like crying. Fours seasons are overrated! Why can’t it always just be summer?? 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • joey says:
      February 3, 2019 at 9:52 PM

      Pushing a double stroller anywhere is not a small task. Your situation is kinda the opposite of my previous one. You’re stuck in a cold place when you’d rather be warm. Spring will surely come there, too! Until then, I’m sorry you suffer 😦

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Bill says:
    February 2, 2019 at 3:44 PM

    PETRICHOR. Love it.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. John Holton says:
    February 2, 2019 at 3:54 PM

    Petrichor! That’s a new one on me….

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Tara says:
    February 2, 2019 at 4:15 PM

    Yellow jackets are hostile! And people who live some place, who could easily move, but stay and complain because it is what it is, are annoying.

    YAY for four seasons!

    Liked by 2 people

  10. scr4pl80 says:
    February 2, 2019 at 4:53 PM

    I think it would be nice to be able to see four seasons but around here it’s usually one season with varying degrees. I love living vicariously through you. Your pictures are gorgeous.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. loisajay says:
    February 2, 2019 at 5:01 PM

    Haha! This is great, Joey. No more Georgia. Ever. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Kat says:
    February 2, 2019 at 5:36 PM

    Beautifully written post and wonderful photos. Thanks, Joey. Btw, about winter, I’m a not so much person. Glad I moved from big time winter New England to moderate winter Virginia.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Ally Bean says:
    February 2, 2019 at 6:20 PM

    I agree. This frigid weather didn’t thrill me, but cold winters are as it is supposed to be. Now that we’re back into the 40s here I feel like this last week was a dream. Did it really get that cold? Will there really be beautiful flowers outside again… soon? Your montages are perfect. From cold to hot we go. And back again.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. coldhandboyack says:
    February 2, 2019 at 6:37 PM

    Our locations sound remarkably similar. I love having four seasons. Boise is beautiful in the Spring with all it’s flowering trees. It’s pretty all year, even with naked sticks and squirrel nests against a grey sky. It’s a farming area still, so lot’s of produce. Northern Nevada gets two seasons, too damned hot, and too damned cold. It’s good here.

    Liked by 1 person

    • joey says:
      February 3, 2019 at 10:02 PM

      I get that. Your landscape looks different, but I do see the changes. When I was in college, my then boyfriend read me a bit from something about Boise. How it was a premium American city. Not too big, not too small, blah blah blah and then declared we should live in Boise. He lives in Illinois now. I wonder if he’s on his way, slowly creeping west? 😛

      Liked by 1 person

  15. sustainabilitea says:
    February 2, 2019 at 9:17 PM

    I too am a four-season and winter lover, Joey. I’ve lived in the Midwest my entire life and I love it. When people here complain about winter, I want to say, “Then why are you living in the Midwest?” Snow on!

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

  16. JoAnna says:
    February 2, 2019 at 9:27 PM

    You get lightning bugs! I miss lightening bugs. 20 years ago we used to see them every summer in the backyard. I think maybe the city spraying for mosquitoes has made them go away. It’s sad. But I have seen them in rural areas across the river.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Jami Carder says:
    February 2, 2019 at 9:43 PM

    LOVED your writing today! Especially the part that starts with “LOOK WHAT THE EARTH MADE” and all that followed. Such an amazing stream of perfectly worded thoughts that made me chuckle out loud:)

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Joanne Sisco says:
    February 2, 2019 at 10:20 PM

    I’m with you all the way on this one. I’m definitely a 4 seasons kind of person, but personally I’d make spring and fall MUCH longer and winter shorter. Winter takes up too much space in these parts. Summer is sticky and hot and humid, but since it doesn’t seem to last very long, I’m willing to overlook this flaw 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Jewels says:
    February 2, 2019 at 11:05 PM

    Yes! I’m with you on all of this, Joey! ❤
    I LOL'd at "some days and you can’t properly enjoy soda or alcohol because you have to drink water all goddamned day just to stay alive." Hahahaha!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Manja Mexi Movie says:
    February 3, 2019 at 8:27 AM

    Yeahh! Great galleries and narrative. I’m a four-season person too living in the climate now, not in the seasons as much any more. No snow (or once for half a day in five years), no leaves because not many trees with leaves, but the spring is still gorgeous with all the new greens. As for summer, not for Joeys. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  21. rivergirl1211 says:
    February 3, 2019 at 8:34 AM

    Beautiful pics! Isn’t it funny how we northerners can gripe all we want about snow and cold temps but the minute a southern starts we violently defend our 4 seasons? Long live icicles!

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Benson says:
    February 3, 2019 at 9:02 AM

    What a beautiful post. As much as I dislike the cold I still appreciate the changes of seasons and you did a wonderful job articulating the reasons. I still like the hot more though.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Amy says:
    February 3, 2019 at 4:06 PM

    I can appreciate the springs and falls here in the north. I do love those first shoots of green proving that life does still exist and I love the yellows and reds of the fall. I struggle to appreciate winter, but I try. While there’s not much color change in Florida, in my first home there was a cypress tree that shed its needles in the winter and the fresh green sprouts always signaled spring to me. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  24. bikerchick57 says:
    February 5, 2019 at 7:09 PM

    Sorry, Joey, I know I am super-dee-duper late in commenting here. Bad blogging friend!
    Your winter cat and dog photos made me smile. I needed that tonight. After this past week of snow and frigid cold, then rain and ice over the weekend, and more snow and cold on the way, I’m almost done with winter. Hoping the chubby little groundhog is right, although I suspect we have six more weeks of winter either way.
    I love spring – the smell of mud and new grass and the color of those beautiful green leaves on the trees. It’s a season of renewal and a reason to engage in the senses.
    Hope your week is going well. Only three more days to another weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

  25. bikerchick57 says:
    February 5, 2019 at 9:51 PM

    Ummm…too many weekends!😏

    Liked by 1 person

  26. markbialczak says:
    February 6, 2019 at 8:00 AM

    Yes, all four seasons bring a distinct thrill. You got it going on there, too, Joey.

    Liked by 1 person

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  28. J-Dub says:
    February 9, 2019 at 11:27 AM

    This too shall pass like the seasons. Beautiful gallery. I’m enjoying my feast 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Laura says:
    February 15, 2019 at 9:28 AM

    What an absolutely gorgeous gallery of photos! These four seasons are stunning…

    Liked by 1 person

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