Computer Glitch
Error 404: Spring not found.
I was on a shopping trip for my husband to a sports store yesterday. He had bought a balaclava last fall, but misplaced it, and his head in the early morning cold slowly freezes before midday. I went to buy another one. There weren't any. In the end I found a hunting cap with flaps that folded over in front and were held closed with velcro. It was more expensive, but I took one of the last two on the shelf.
There was nothing from winter left, except a few items on final discount. Everything was for spring, including some cool shorts already out on the rack for summer. And then, when I want to buy a pair in May, they'll be all gone. Needless to say, few people were buying clothes of any kind.
It may have been the first day of spring, but the weather forecast was for late January. Here on the coast, daytime temperatures don't go much lower than the upper forties in the winter, and generally stay in the lower fifties (50º/10º). That's the weather we've been having lately, including snow in the mountains hovering between 500 and 1000 meters. The rest of northern Spain is snowed in. Southern Spain is experiencing gale-force storms that have swept away beachfront restaurants just in time for Holy Week and its vacationing tourists. Europe is encased in ice, and my beloved New England across the Atlantic is bracing for yet another winter storm to leave it over a foot of snow.
Back in December everyone was wailing and beseeching the skies to bestow water upon us. We had passed through a rainless winter, a waterless summer, an indecently hot and dry autumn, and were facing catastrophe. Vigo, one of the largest cities in Galicia, was about to turn off the faucets if it didn't rain soon. The reservoir that serviced it was almost bone dry. Other cities and towns had placed restrictions on water use. We had had to dig our well deeper to follow the water down because the intake pipes were almost above the water line. The day of water judgment had arrived for green Galicia.
Now, most reservoirs are well above fifty percent, and some have even reached a hundred percent and have had to open and let water out. This has become one of the rainiest winters of the past few years. The only area of Spain that still is uncertain about its water supply is the southeast. The rest has pretty much recovered from the drought, though some more water in some reservoirs will not be frowned upon. The only problem is that the calendar shows late March, but the weather is acting like it's early February.
The stores follow the calendar, not the weather. So, if you are now lamenting not having another sweater in the wardrobe to tide you over this cold spell, don't bother to visit the stores. The winter sales have practically all ended. The only sweater you'll find in the corner is the doll-sized fluorescent orange with flaming red pattern no one in their right minds wanted to flaunt this past winter. There might be a few cotton sweaters in pastel shades for this fledgling season, with boat necks that don't even cover the shoulders, or with a wide weave meant to let a tank top be seen underneath. But there won't be anything that remotely keeps you warm.
Mother Nature, check your computer. It seems to have a glitch.
I was on a shopping trip for my husband to a sports store yesterday. He had bought a balaclava last fall, but misplaced it, and his head in the early morning cold slowly freezes before midday. I went to buy another one. There weren't any. In the end I found a hunting cap with flaps that folded over in front and were held closed with velcro. It was more expensive, but I took one of the last two on the shelf.
There was nothing from winter left, except a few items on final discount. Everything was for spring, including some cool shorts already out on the rack for summer. And then, when I want to buy a pair in May, they'll be all gone. Needless to say, few people were buying clothes of any kind.
It may have been the first day of spring, but the weather forecast was for late January. Here on the coast, daytime temperatures don't go much lower than the upper forties in the winter, and generally stay in the lower fifties (50º/10º). That's the weather we've been having lately, including snow in the mountains hovering between 500 and 1000 meters. The rest of northern Spain is snowed in. Southern Spain is experiencing gale-force storms that have swept away beachfront restaurants just in time for Holy Week and its vacationing tourists. Europe is encased in ice, and my beloved New England across the Atlantic is bracing for yet another winter storm to leave it over a foot of snow.
Back in December everyone was wailing and beseeching the skies to bestow water upon us. We had passed through a rainless winter, a waterless summer, an indecently hot and dry autumn, and were facing catastrophe. Vigo, one of the largest cities in Galicia, was about to turn off the faucets if it didn't rain soon. The reservoir that serviced it was almost bone dry. Other cities and towns had placed restrictions on water use. We had had to dig our well deeper to follow the water down because the intake pipes were almost above the water line. The day of water judgment had arrived for green Galicia.
Now, most reservoirs are well above fifty percent, and some have even reached a hundred percent and have had to open and let water out. This has become one of the rainiest winters of the past few years. The only area of Spain that still is uncertain about its water supply is the southeast. The rest has pretty much recovered from the drought, though some more water in some reservoirs will not be frowned upon. The only problem is that the calendar shows late March, but the weather is acting like it's early February.
The stores follow the calendar, not the weather. So, if you are now lamenting not having another sweater in the wardrobe to tide you over this cold spell, don't bother to visit the stores. The winter sales have practically all ended. The only sweater you'll find in the corner is the doll-sized fluorescent orange with flaming red pattern no one in their right minds wanted to flaunt this past winter. There might be a few cotton sweaters in pastel shades for this fledgling season, with boat necks that don't even cover the shoulders, or with a wide weave meant to let a tank top be seen underneath. But there won't be anything that remotely keeps you warm.
Mother Nature, check your computer. It seems to have a glitch.
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