Hey, Mother Nature ... Make Up Your Mind!

When we arrived back in Chesapeake last week, it was 75F … lovely t-shirt weather. The next day dawned sunny and the temperature soared to 85F … almost sultry. We were enjoying the warm. I contemplated taking off the bed warmer and putting the heaters away. David suggested that I delay, just in case. You know how fickle Mother Nature can be.

Sure enough, the weather changed abruptly with two days of rain, severe weather (T&L/tornado warnings) and high winds barreling through the rigging. Daytime temps for the past three days have plummeted into the mid-40s with unrelenting winds that keep it cold and raw. The nighttime temps have dipped into the 20s. David hasn't had to break ice around the boat, but we've definitely needed heaters and our beloved bed warmer is worth its weight in gold. Trust me, we're not rushing out of bed in the mornings.

Our plan, until the other day, had been to head once again up the Potomac in late March to Washington, DC for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I'd been talking about this month long event and researching it since before Christmas. Statistically, the “mean” date for the blossom peak is April 4th and we planned to arrive there just in time. It seems the warm weather also fooled Washington's cherry trees. According to the National Park Service, the trees will peak in mid-March, a month early, the earliest peak on record ... ever! Really?

I guess I shouldn't be complaining compared to the extreme weather experienced in the rest of the country. All in all, we're safe and dry and at home aboard Nine of Cups. But still, Mother Nature could be a bit more consistent and kinder all around, don't you think?