I was presented the opportunity to try out the snowbird lifestyle for this current winter, i.e., getting out of the Ohio cold. I have been to Florida many times in my life and even as recently as last spring for rest and rehabilitation after another dreadful spine and neck surgery. From the doctors and medical staff came, “Don’t lift more than 5 lbs., No cutting grass. Do not ever shovel snow again! You have to take it real easy for the next year until the hardware we put in your neck has a chance to settle and the bone grows into it, etc., etc., etc.” Because I live in the country here in Mantua, I have acres to cut, snow to shovel, and a long driveway to plow. I was not quite ready to give up on that yet but starting to realize that actually doing it was just too much.
Very fortunately for me, a friend came up from Florida to help me out for a while because even feeding the dog was very difficult and just taking a shower was challenging. When it became clear that this current surgery was going to heal much more slowly in a body that is now 10 years older than the last time I had spinal surgery, she invited me to return with her to Florida to continue to rest and enjoy the warmer temperatures. Later that year, when I returned to my home in Mantua, a plan for taking care of the property had to be formulated and more formalized and I needed to get with my long-time Model “A” partner who needed my help, as did my musical partner. I would try to tie things up and tentatively head back to Florida and my friend’s beach house for say, the dead of winter.
How did all this turn out? Well, yes, I certainly did go snow birding back down to Florida to avoid Ohio’s snow, cold and hail. Florida, however, got snow for the first time in 40 years. January was their coldest month recorded in the last 100 years. It snowed a couple inches in Jacksonville. This crippled the northern portion of the state. The high for that day was forecast at 44 degrees, the low 31. The actual snow line seemed to end just below the northern state line. While Jacksonville got maybe 2 inches, Pensacola to the west, received 12 inches, thus crippling the city for many days. However, by 5-8 miles south the snow had turned to rain. While I was pleased that there was nothing on the ground, I certainly wasn’t going to the beach either — but I didn’t have to shovel it, walk in it, drive in it. There was some ice on the windshield when I started the car in the morning. Meanwhile, in northern Florida, every heavy winter coat left over from their last snow (back in 1989) sold out immediately. Schools closed for the next few days. The highlight of the local newscast was a picture of the complete Florida state snow plowing team consisting of 5 dump trucks and a 1946 Willys jeep with a 4-foot plow on it. Salt? We ain’t got no salt!!
Concurrently, in Kent, Mantua and Parkman there were about 8-10 inches on the ground. The high for that day was -2 degrees. My friend Jerry Siracki in Parkman got his snowplow pickup stuck deep on the side of the driveway and in the process of getting unstuck, squashed his wife’s highly prized tulip bed. Not surprisingly, he plans to avoid any conversation about spring flowers this year.
Speaking of spring, we’re well into it here in Florida now that February has arrived. The temperatures are once again in the 70s and 80s. We are back in shorts and beach shirts, though I swear that there are still people walking around in arctic weather gear and complaining about the shiveringly awful 50-degree nights. And yes, it is also already allergy season here. My friend who has now become my partner is already sneezing up a storm and we’ll be back in Mantua just in time for the beginning of pollen season there. Sometimes trying to get away from climate change means you just can’t win!
