Springtime

Some observations about my first spring in South Carolina

It arrives weeks earlier, in fact, here's a list of things that have already happened in the past few weeks... and it's only mid-March:

-We have had to run our air conditioner in the house

-Also need AC in my car on the way home from work, it's too hot for riding with windows down

-Matt is wearing shorts to work

-I am wearing flip flops

-Cookouts
-Saw a girl with a sunburn

-Many trees are green and finished blooming

In Kentucky springtime meant a light jacket and jeans. Crisp mornings and pleasant afternoons. In South Carolina spring feels more like early summer in Kentucky. My frame of reference hasn't adjusted yet. When someone at work says something like, "it's supposed to be colder tomorrow" I immediately think- "Aha! This 80 degree streak we've had is clearly a fluke, it will feel more like spring tomorrow, maybe I'll need a sweater in the morning, yeah, I'll wear layers in case it warms up as the day goes on." Then I ask how cold it will get and they say something ridiculous like "71." I laugh and say that I do not consider 71 cold. Yet. My perspective might change once I acclimate to the 100 + degree summers, but for now "cold" will not be used to describe any temperature where my feet are bare and the ceiling fan is on.

Our Japanese Maple (above) and Dogwood (below) trees are looking pretty these days.

One thing that has been ridiculous this past week is the pollen. It is EVERYWHERE. I don't know if it's because of the heat or because of all the pine trees, but there is a yellow coating of pollen on everything. Here's what our table looks like:

I should mention that Matt cleaned it yesterday, so this is less than a day's worth of pollen. I should also note that it took me several times writing the word yuck until I finally got through to the black table underneath.

The roads are covered too. I took a picture of Matt's tire as evidence of how much of the stuff is on the roads, it turned out looking white, but in person it's yellow.

Spring is not my favorite season, but I do love how everything seems to wake up and come alive literally overnight. Hope everyone is enjoying all the colors and change wherever you are!