Heavy Snow in Northern Ohio

After a couple of days of persistent snow and then heavier snow and high winds--this is my deck in Chardon, Ohio

Carolan's Poem about Autumn in Northeast Ohio

The other day I found an old poem Carolan wrote (some 9 years ago, when she was a Freshman at Ohio University) about autumn in Northeast Ohio. Our area, especially parts of Lake, Geuaga, and Cuyahoga Counties, have unsurpassed color in mid to lake October. I can't imagine that New England is even more beautiful. It's because of our climate, our soils, and the mix of trees (sugar maple, red maple, tulip poplar, tupelo, sassafras, etc.). Anyway, here is Carolan's beautiful poem:

in northeast ohio

                        the buckle of the snowbelt

                        does not rust slowly into

                        the freeze and gloom and white permanent winter.

                        it Explodes.

                        crimson orange flames bursting from the branches

                        fireworks, a sunset, a campfire

                        the glory and celebration and excitement

                        sustain the hidden embers of Warmth

                                                                                of Color

                                                            of Life.

                        when the snow doesn’t stop falling

                                                and the sun forgets to visit

                        we will grasp tightly to the fire of fall

                        and the eternal glow will keep us strong.

Carolan Coughlin

October 27, 2003

                                                                            

Early Spring? Tomorrow's Primary Election

This morning it felt like early spring in Chardon, Ohio. The sun was shining, the birds were singing up a storm (more on that later), and it was 55 degrees. And there was a foot or more of snow on the ground. The maple syrup farmers are putting their sap buckets on the sugar maple trees--and we are getting ready for a roller coaster ride! Today the high will be 60 degrees; tonight we will get high winds, rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow--weeping, and chattering of teeth. In other words, a normal March day in Northeast Ohio.

Tomorrow is a huge day in the history of Ohio--and maybe in the history of the United States. Almost everyone I talk to is ready to throw the Wicked Witch of the West out of office. The eagerness for change is palpable, an unstoppable force. Tomorrow, Ohio Democrats will choose either Hillary Clinton, the first viable female candidate for the presidency, or Barack Obama, the first viable African-American candidate. I believe they are both very bright, articulate, and capable candidates, whatever their race or gender. One of these will be the next President of the United States.

I will vote for Barack Obama. He has the energy and ideals that I saw in John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. Our country and world deserve someone better than what we have suffered through these past 7 years. Go Barrack!

Lake Effect in the Lake Erie Snowbelt

110 to 150 inches of snow each season--that's what we get in the Northeast Ohio snowbelt, especially in Chardon, Hambden, Munson, Montville, Thompson, Chester, Leroy, and Madison Townships. We also get sometimes spectacular and other times dreary, endless cloudiness about 7 months of the year. The snow and the clouds are generated by Lake Erie, our local Wonder of the World, the 11th largest freshwater lake on earth. The snowbelt is a rather narrow band of territory east of Cleveland. It begins on Cleveland's far East Side and extends south and east to parts of Cuyahoga County, all of Lake County and Geauga County, and the northern half of Ashtabula County. It's possible to have no snow and sunny skies in Westlake, Avon Lake, or Bay Village, and blizzard-like conditions and two feet of snow on the ground 35 or 40 miles east in our snowbelt.

We snowbelters tend to take a perverse pride in our perverse weather (of course we complain about it at the same time!). I will talk about our "Lake Effect" in another posting.