better weather again

I am delighted to report that the weather has taken a major turn for the better. Instead of those dreadful days of +3 C we had for most of Christmas week, I am delighted to report that the weather has taken a major turn for the better. Instead of those dreadful days of +3 C we had for most of Christmas week, which meant huge amounts of snow melting, puddles forming, and roads and "walkways" which were really wet, icy, slippery, and dangerous, and trees looking their worst as dismal brown twigs, we now have wonderful -10 C temperatures, which means that the ice is (mostly) no longer slippery, the trees are once again covered in beautiful white crystals, and, for the first time in days, I was inspired to actually go for a real walk into the forest. The improvement in weather has also improved my mood and energy levels, which is good, since I have lots to do today and tomorrow during the day before we take the night train to Lund (in far, far southern Sweden).

The timing of the improvement in weather amuses me: when I first heard about the 31st Nordic Geological Winter Meeting to be held in Lund in January my reaction was “ick, who wants to go that far south in January?” At the time I was fully confident that up here we would have perfect winter weather, with plenty of snow and temperatures ranging from -20 to -5 C, and no warmer, since that is what one normally has that time of year. I also expected that as far south as Lund (nearly, but not quite as far south as one can go without leaving Sweden) there would probably not be any snow and the temperatures would likely range between -5 and +10 C, which makes rain possible, and, if there is one thing I never, ever want to see again, it is a winter rain. Therefore I didn’t want to attend the meeting, but I signed up for it anyway, because I had so much fun at the Metamorphic Geology Field Symposium I attended back in August, that I wanted to attend the metamorphic session at the winter meeting, too.

Fast forward to this month, which, while it has had days of nice weather, snow fall, and temperatures below freezing, has also been plagued with warm days of rain, snow melting, and slippery roads. It finally got bad enough that I was, frankly, relieved, that we were planning on heading south—if it is going to be so damned warm it is better to have it that little bit warmer, so that there is no snow to melt, and any rain actually gets absorbed into the ground and the wet goes away. Yes, my first choice is to actually have proper winter, but if that isn’t possible, perhaps it is a good idea to leave home for a week, and not be depressed watching my beloved snow melt.

But today the temperatures are lovely, and the weather widget on my phone thinks that the temperatures will hold below freezing for at least the next four or five days, and I can’t help but think that, perhaps, I would rather stay home—if the weather is good I would rather not be away and miss it. Proper winter weather has been too rare in my life the past decade or so, and I don’t want to miss a day if it, if it is happening, now that I once again live far enough north to experience it.

Oh well, I am certain I will enjoy the meeting, I am looking forward to day-tripping 12th Night, and it will be nice to see linda_linsefors’s parent’s again. Our train departs tomorrow at 20:00, and I will fly home again after the conference on the 10th. If I don’t post between now and then you will know that it is a busy trip.