Dogwood Winter? Redbud Winter? Blackberry Winter?

Whichever of the Southern late-Spring cold snaps fits in this case, it hit and we all groused.  But first, we reveled in the warmth. A week ago, I headed downtown to sit in the shade, have a glass of cool white wine and people-watch. At the table next to me, a group of 20-somethings chatted with each other and snarked about the poor souls who hadn't yet packed away their coats. The ring leader laughed and exclaimed, "Ha! Look at that guy in the puffy vest! What's WRONG with him?" As if it were a moral failing on his part. When the talk turned to their own clothes, I snickered a little at her story of defending the "romper" she said she was wearing. I was sorely tempted to turn to her and explain that it is a far more egregious fashion sin for alleged adults to wear clothing designed for toddlers than clothing designed for cold weather.

With the temperatures climbing up into the 80's last weekend, I stopped on my way home from hiking and spent a happy half hour washing and vacuuming out my car.

And because it was just too pretty to be inside, I followed up the hike with an afternoon walk out at the lake. According to my fitbit, I logged 21,538 steps that day and climbed the equivalent of 125 floors.

Which made relaxing on the porch that evening with a sandwich and a cold beer that much sweeter.

When I went into town for a walk Sunday, I knew the forecast was predicting a temperature drop the next night. I even had the foresight to drape the budding azaleas and tender annuals in towels and sheets before I went to bed. But still, I didn't expect to find myself on Tuesday interrupting a patient's story by suddenly blurting out, "It's snowing!" She turned to look out the window behind her and said, "Oh. My. God. It's APRIL!"  It's almost as though we forget every year that we get brief relapses into winter before summer is well and truly here. Two chilly days later, and now we're out again in short sleeves and congratulating ourselves on temperatures being back in the 70's as they should be. Because Southerners? We're spoiled.