Ah, the weather

When you live in a place like Ireland, you don't expect much from the weather. You never hear anyone raving about Irish weather in all of the attraction to visit the country. However, you will never hear anyone more apologetic about the weather than the Irish. I've found this since the first time I visited the country to today.

The first time I came to Ireland was at the end of January. I was sure to allow about 5 hours in between my flight to Chicago from Indy and departure from Chicago to Ireland because of the inevitable Midwestern winter flight delays. They were de-icing the planes and snow was piling up on my car when I left. When I got over here, it was hardly tropical, mind you, but there was no ice or snow on the ground. Still, everywhere I went people were apologizing for the cold and the wind. Little did they know I had 4 inches of snow on my car to scrape off when I got home!

Even to this day, we're experiencing a bit of a cold snap over here. So, it's a bit chilly for late March. But what do you expect from an island in the north Atlantic? People are just sure that where I came from, the weather must be much warmer (despite all assurances since November that that's not the case). After a quick look at the Star online the other day, I was able to report, no once again, as they have 3.5 inches of snow back in my hometown. Granted, I know everyone back in Indy is grumbling and moaning about the late snow fall because if you're anything like me, I think snow should be illegal after March 15th. But, the windy chill in the air over here feels much easier without the added pain of scraping my car in the morning.

No, the Irish need not be so apologetic about the weather. The daffodils are blooming like crazy all over the place and before long, it'll be what they call summer - which resembles much more of an extended spring time to those of us used to weather in the 90s with swamp-like humidity during the summer months.

So, I might have my jacket out a little longer that I was used to, but I've happily left my car scraper behind!