American Pie: Florida Has Winter Too
...To the winter visitors, what they see and experience probably is what they think Florida is like year round – certainly I did before I became a resident. But subtle though they may be, Florida has its winter characteristics, in addition to the weather. Many birds that spend the summer in the northern states and Canada, return in the winter...
John Merchant thinks of snowy days as he heads for the piil.
While I bask in South West Florida’s best weather – mid- seventies (20’s C ), clear, deep blue skies and low humidity, “real” winter is only as far away as my TV screen. Seeing images of cars abandoned at the side of the road, and people digging themselves out of their driveways, with power lines drooping across roads or laying on the ground, imparts an otherworldly feeling.
I have to remind myself that this is why I moved to Florida, six years ago. One too many fluke snowstorms in October, bringing down trees in full leaf and power lines with them, was all it took. As each winter progressed I’d watch the Hudson River freeze over, and Coastguard ice breakers making a way for commercial shipping.
I’d worry about my daily, 60 mile commute to work on a major, often icy, highway, and if I arrived at work unscathed I’d be checking for snowflakes out of my office window all day. My route involved a large interchange of the “spaghetti junction” variety, and at least twice each winter a tanker truck with hazardous chemicals on board would slide off an approach or exit ramp.
Immediately, the police would close off all the ramps, and they would remain closed for hours while the chemicals were secured or neutralized. Detours were an option, depending on one’s location, but my alternative route involved winding roads through high hills – not a pleasant prospect on a dark night with badly ploughed roads. In the end it was more attractive to wait out the delay in a restaurant.
For a change of pace, one of my winter chores was chipping ice out of the gutters with an axe. Fortunately, my house was a single story, but even so, teetering on a ladder in sub-zero temperatures made for some tense moments.
It was during such tasks that I experienced hypothermia for the first time. It creeps up insidiously, inducing a sleepy fatigue that is very different to just feeling cold, and is not unattractive, hence deaths from exposure. On the two occasions I experienced it, my condition wasn’t obvious to me until I went indoors, where I found it impossible to get warm.
So, all-in-all, a move to a warmer climate seemed to make a lot of sense, and became perhaps mandatory for the future comfort of me and my wife. Fortunately, we had no family ties, and being of the same mind made the move an easy decision.
Aren’t you concerned about hurricanes we were asked? Of course we were, we’d be stupid not to be. But Florida is a good sized state and hurricanes don’t visit every year. And, in any case, the north is far from immune to destructive weather. Twice, trees and limbs came down on our property in New York State, necessitating a new roof on one occasion.
The most popular time for tourists and snowbirds to visit Florida is from January to April. Only Europeans, the British and the Germans prefer the torrid sub-tropical weather of the summer months.
To the winter visitors, what they see and experience probably is what they think Florida is like year round – certainly I did before I became a resident. But subtle though they may be, Florida has its winter characteristics, in addition to the weather.
Many birds that spend the summer in the northern states and Canada, return in the winter. The White Pelican, distinguished from the Brown Pelican by its plumage and lack of a sack under its bill, spends only the winter here. They migrate in huge flocks, which is quite a spectacle, being the big birds that they are.
Aside from the fauna, many trees and shrubs respond to the change of seasons. Though one might think that palms are the dominant tree, away from the coastal resorts they are hardly to be seen. Deciduous trees are much more common, and several varieties lose their leaves in the Fall. Of the blossoming trees, some are in bloom through the summer months, while others flower only in the winter.
Florida has its share of cold blooded creatures – snakes, alligators and geckos, none of which care for cooler weather because they rely on the sun’s heat for their metabolism. So such creatures are seldom seen until spring.
Despite my happiness at being in the south, just occasionally I get a yearning for snow, usually brought on by a picture. One such picture, that I painted during a Pennsylvania winter, hangs above my desk. I also have a print of a watercolor painting featuring the English, Derbyshire countryside under snow.
Such images make me wish I could magically spend just a day in a snow-covered landscape, and remind me of foraging the woods for holly, or taking a brisk walk to the local on Christmas morning. But the nostalgia quickly passes as I head for the pool.
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