Where's the Winter Blues?

Today I went for a walk, and I didn't even have to wear a coat. It's sixty five degrees! Now! As Matt said yesterday: "Global warming? Bah! The trees always bloom in January."

Now I'm not an idiot, I realize that by next week it will be frigid again. I'm not even complaining, who would? But it's surely some weird weather. Over Christmas Matt and I were hoping to have a break from winter in Eugene, but by the time we left Cleveland it was in the low 40s here. Unseasonably warm, almost sweatshirt weather. I'd hoped for the high 40s in Eugene, but it stayed mid 30s for most of the week. A few years ago (ok like seven) when I was at Notre Dame we had kids sunbathing in the middle of December. I think temps were in the 70s. Just to clarify, that's South Bend Indiana, the most miserable place on earth (weather wise anyway). A year later we had school closed over finals because of excessive snow, something that hadn't happened in something like thirty years (not because they don't get the snow, but because they rarely get enough that they can't deal with it quickly).

When people hear I'm from Oregon, they say, "oh, rain all the time huh?" And mostly I say yes, until I stop to think about it. It did rain all the time when I was a kid, but it's not raining quite so much there anymore. As is true in California, forest fires are increasingly a problem because Oregon doesn't get the normal amount of rainfall, then in the winter, it doesn't get the normal amount of snowfall, and then in the spring, there's not enough runoff and everything is dry dry dry. I told someone this, and added ruefully, global warming, and they laughed, as though I were making a joke.

I'm not claiming that any of these changes are proof or evidence of global warming, and at this point I hope we don't need any more proof of global warming, but taken all together weird weather is always a little alarming these days. A sixty five degree January day in Cleveland certainly isn't the end of the world, but I hope it makes a few more people nervous. For my part, I think I'll just enjoy the nice weather while I can.

*The second picture is mine. The first picture is from flickr, linked.