Spring has sprung in N IRE

Lots of folks have been asking what the weather is like here in the winter, especially compared to the terribly cold and snowy/icy winter that Michigan has been experiencing this year. In general, between end-Oct and end-Jan, I would describe the weather here as grey and wet cold. That is to say that most nights it is about 35 degrees F and most days it is about 45 degrees F, that most days it rains for a part of the day (some days for the whole day), it is often quite windy, and when it isn't raining, the clouds are very variable. There are not very many days of sun -- maybe 4 total since we returned from FL at the beginning of Jan. And, perhaps the hardest part to adjust to is the number of hours of daylight -- not many. The sun comes up about 830am and goes down about 430pm. Yikes! Mornings have been tough...

BUT, the great news is this:

• it never turns brown here, there is always green,
• it rarely freezes or snows,
• the days are getting longer - the difference in the afternoons is already perceptible, and most importantly,
• spring comes early! On Feb 7 we had our first spring flowers (snow drops) blooming, the rhododendrons had buds, and the daffodils had sprouted! 

Things are looking up here in N IRE!

Can you see all of those buds?

And daffodils?