Looking back, moving forward

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Fran Ostendorf, EditorWe’ve spent a lot of time talking about the weather again. But this time, the topic centers on what a mild winter we’ve had so far.

One year ago, I was writing this column from my home office. The weather was awful; the snow piling up. A storm of historic proportions was predicted, though what we got was only a pretty bad blizzard. We ran a photo of the view from my window and everything was buried in snow.  My next column also focused on the weather. It seemed to me that every Monday, there was some weather-related problem that made putting together The Voice a difficult proposition.

Fast-forward a year, and we’ve had one storm – about 4 to 8 inches of snow, depending on where you live. It’s gone now except for the piles at the foot of a driveway or near the curb. Temperatures have been above 40 degrees most days and into the 50s on some days. On the day I’m writing this, we set a record high. And cherry trees on the East Side of Providence have already blossomed. What will they look like in the spring?

Winter in New England? What’s that? The calendar says February but the weather certainly doesn’t.

Not that I’m complaining. There are a lot of aches and pains in my household so shoveling doesn’t come easily. And I don’t even want to think about the mail box, hit by the plow last winter, nudged by a weaving car during the summer and now resting somewhat precariously on its post. It’s a plow push away from ruin.

Last year, the snowy weather provided plenty of fodder for this column. This year, I’m getting the weather column out of the way now. I’m thinking positively and looking ahead to March and thoughts of spring. Obviously I’m not a skier. And there aren’t any little ones in my house, looking for a good day of sledding and snowball fights.

If you also have thoughts of warm weather, are you traveling or spending some time in the warm weather? Don’t forget to get out The Voice and snap a photo for the We Are Read section. We love to get those photos, and other readers like to see where you’ve been. And if you are hitting the slopes elsewhere, send us those photos too. At least I won’t have to shovel that snow.

As always, we look forward to hearing from you!