“NEVER IN DECEMBER”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Dec. 25, 2015) — Unusually warm weather in the Northeast has brought a special surprise this Christmas morning: a single dandelion poking up, fully opened, through the fallen leaves.
Dandelions are normally seen in the early spring, but never in December.
Two months ago, it appeared that fall would be coming to an abrupt end when snow fell on a very cold October 18. Weather remained cold through that week, making outdoor weddings difficult, as this writer recalls.
Since that time, temperatures have fluctuated widely between the high teens and nearly 70 in a phenomenon attributed to an “El Niño” effect.
On Christmas Day, Hartford, CT is warmer than Los Angeles, CA, with both cities reporting “mostly sunny” skies.
A few feet to the right of the Christmas flower is an as-yet unused snowblower, readied after that first snowfall more than two months ago.
On December 9, another unusual sight in the same general area greeted us: a pre-Christmas purple flower, like John the Baptist foretelling the coming of a messiah, who was born on Christmas Day.