Here's one for you guys up north....

Weather varies sufficiently in the Bay Area. Besides, cold hurts and hot is exhausting.

Thank you mr Great Laker .... you're pics are probably greater than your Great Lake.

Those pics are not snap shots. Thank's for posting.

Being a born and raised Oregon Washington guy, I can't imagine a better place to live. Done lots of traveling about but nothing beas this area in my opinion. Plenty of "seasons" but none of the brutal hot and cold of other areas. And, lots of boating paradise. I'm staying put. Great pictures though.

seasalt007 said:

I don't think that Marin and I hear the same drummer. ;-)

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X2.

Come to think of it, X20.

Beautiful pictures! Reminds me of my days in Chicago and Pennsylvania. It was fun while I was young. Then I moved west and have learned to appreciate the beauty of Northern CA and a life with good weather as a daily expectation. Some days I even forget to check the weather before making plans!

In retirement, I appreciate the comfort and simplicity of good weather even more. I can make plans to boat in comfort nearly every day. Last weekend we postponed our fishing plans due to sub-freezing overnight temperatures. We'll fish this weekend and hope to post pics of the weekend.

If I want snow, I can drive an hour and be in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the ski slopes. If I want wine tasting, I can drive about an hour to Napa or Lodi and enjoy some of the best wine in the world. If I want the arid desert, I can drive a few hours into Nevada or Death Valley. If I want coastal beauty, it's just a hour or two away. I appreciate the turn of the seasons, the cold, the rain, the snow and ice...I just don't like being surrounded by it 24/7.

I can certainly appreciate and relate with those who find this type of weather exhilarating. In my youth, outdoor hockey in Chicago was the norm. We loved it!! I'm just not one of them any longer.

And don't get me started on the summer humidity!!

In a few days the car will be packed for a fast drive from Carefree AZ to Sidney BC. Yes in the dead of winter. Most of the cars on the road are those trying to get somewhere and no lollygagging tourists to contend with. Driving 75 to 85 MPH steady is common until the miserable state of Oregon where the speed limit drops to 65 . Snow in the western US seldom shuts the roads down, unlike the east and Midwest where getting stranded is not uncommon.

Winter boating in BC is quite pleasant with temperatures normally in the upper 40s in the day. We are past our tanning days so wearing a coat (pea coat) and toque (watch cap) is permissible. Then onto the Seattle Boat Show, again in the PNW dead of winter.

Marin and Murray have said it well. The PNW in any season trumps most places in their best season. One thing I have noticed, as the years have piled up the allure of gold chains and bars serving drinks with umbrellas wanes. Wind, rain, sunshine and mild temperatures are pretty nice, and no ice on the foredeck as I fiddle with the trusty old Bruce.

Oh, and diesel heat really helps!

saltcod said:

I do remember. I recall a time I think I was with you walking down there before daybreak to fish for Coho, and having a large owl buzz us as we walked the trail, remember?

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Egad...that's going back about 44 years

My memory is of a huge owl exploding from our feet as we walked down the trail in the dark. Either way, the surprise was unforgettable!

(Lips are still zippered about the smoky pancake fire incident...poor ba$tard$ must have had a hard hike up the river )

MurrayM said:

Egad...that's going back about 44 years

My memory is of a huge owl exploding from our feet as we walked down the trail in the dark. Either way, the surprise was unforgettable!

(Lips are still zippered about the smoky pancake fire incident...poor ba$tard$ must have had a hard hike up the river )

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Uh, I wasn't going to mention that but EGADS! I remember that part too!
Those poor suckers having to hike upriver in firefighting gear...
they probably still talk about it to this day!

(Best we keep that story between just you & me then, okay?)

Inspired by Great Laker's 4 season sequences...here's Zain, our 130 lb Pyrenees/Lab cross enjoying north coast BC's seasons;

...and the other two;

Woof, woof. Gooood doggies!

Well, I like the changes of seasons too. But sometimes enough is enough. A winter break to someplace warm about this time of year is always welcome, but unfortunately not in the cards this winter.

Interesting thought provoking thread, I can see both sides a bit, I do like some seasonal changes, just can do without the January-March 16 (17th is special) weather window up here on Long Island.

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall #3

One more just for fun?

The seasons have spaces between them. In these in-between times, the days can not make up their minds. Yet, you can sense these transitions coming with the changes the length of daylight, the elevation of the sun, the temperature of day and night, and the strength and direction of the winds. Animals and birds know it well, and begin their preparations. So do we.

Ancient Music -- Ezra Pound



Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm.
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.

Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.

Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
So 'gainst the winter's balm.

Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm.
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

harbor950 said:

Ancient Music -- Ezra Pound



Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm.
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.

Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.

Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
So 'gainst the winter's balm.

Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm.
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

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Thanks. I'd forgotten that. A modern take on Middle English lyrics.

You just raised the intellectual level of TF postings to a new high (although it doesn't take much to do so).

At this time of year I also like the promise of warmth contained in the "original".

Sumer is i-cumin in
By Anonymous

Sing, cuccu, nu. Sing, cuccu.
Sing, cuccu. Sing, cuccu, nu.

Sumer is i-cumin in—
Lhude sing, cuccu!
Groweth sed and bloweth med
And springth the wude nu.
Sing, cuccu!

Awe bleteth after lomb,
Lhouth after calve cu,
Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth—
Murie sing, cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu,
Wel singes thu, cuccu.
Ne swik thu naver nu!