Dogwood Winter

After more than a week of blue skies and gloriously warm temperatures, Kentucky is now cold, gray, and rainy. Am I surprised? Nope. It's Dogwood Winter. My mother-in-law, Vergie, had all sorts of Appalachian weather hints she passed along to me. And one of the ones I've found to be very true has to do with the "mini-winters" that come along once spring starts. Think of them as like Indian Summer in reverse. There is Redbud Winter, Dogwood Winter, and Blackberry Winter, named (obviously, I suppose!) for the plants that are in bloom when these cold snaps normally occur. My journal quilt for April, 2003, was about this very topic and was called Vergie's Weather Wisdom. This weekend is Dogwood Winter here in northeastern Kentucky. That means only one more stretch of cold weather after this, then I can put away our jackets and sweaters and pull out the shorts and t-shirts, because warm weather will be here to stay for a few months. I know it's true because Vergie said so.