Today it snowed six inches (15 cm), the most accumulation we’ve received during any storm so far in 2016 (our winter was relatively mild with very little snow). All the more amazing is that the temperature on Thursday and Friday reached 67 degrees F (19C) and is predicted to plummet to 12 degrees F (-11C) by Tuesday night.
Some may think this is unusual weather, but apparently this is not new phenomena. New England is famous for its changeable weather. The famed author, Mark Twain delivered a speech at the New England Society’s Seventy-First Annual Dinner, in New York City, on Dec. 22, 1876, where he said:
“I reverently believe that the Maker who made us all makes everything in New England but the weather. I don’t know who makes that, but I think it must be raw apprentices in the weather-clerk’s factory who experiment and learn how, in New England, for board and clothes, and then are promoted to make weather for countries that require a good article, and will take their custom elsewhere if they don’t get it.
There is a sumptuous variety about the New England weather that compels the stranger’s admiration — and regret. The weather is always doing something there; always attending strictly to business; always getting up new designs and trying them on the people to see how they will go. But it gets through more business in spring than in any other season.
In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four-and-twenty hours. It was I that made the fame and fortune of that man that had that marvelous collection of weather on exhibition at the Centennial, that so astounded the foreigners. He was going to travel all over the world and get specimens from all the climes. I said, “Don’t you do it; you come to New England on a favorable spring day.” I told him what we could do in the way of style, variety, and quantity. Well, he came and he made his collection in four days. As to variety, why, he confessed that he got hundreds of kinds of weather that he had never heard of before. And as to quantity — well, after he had picked out and discarded all that was blemished in any way, he not only had weather enough, but weather to spare; weather to hire out; weather to sell; to deposit; weather to invest; weather to give to the poor.”
One is never bored with the weather in New England!
Eliza Waters 
The weather might be crazy, but the picture above is so-so-so beautiful! Stay warm! 🙂
Thank you so much, Ana!
I remember when growing up in the Northeast that during spring, you would get teased with nice weather followed by a blizzard. Looks nice though
It was pretty today, I must admit. Like living in a snow globe!
Beautiful and pitiful at the same time! Days like this are what make a sunny, warm spring day so wonderful:-)
I agree, I really appreciate the warm days when we get them! Thanks, Stephanie. 🙂
I guess snow is finally making a real appearance for you. Hopefully it will be brief!
Back to warmer temps. on Wed. Thanks, Hien!
That’s a LOT of snow. We’re still getting flurries after a 55 degree day yesterday. Snow two days, later in the week, but probably not much. I hope Love the picture…the chairs look lovely.
Thank you, Gigi. I was sitting there enjoying the weather and the view only a few days ago. Oh well, the sun will prevail eventually!
We’re getting the cold here without the snow. It does look pretty though!
It is pretty, for sure. Stay warm!
Unbelieveable! Mark Twain is one of my most favorite people and this excerpt shows why. Stay warm~
Thank you, Cindy. 🙂
Sounds like our weather over here, except we don’t get snow. Beautiful shot Eliza.
Thank you, Karen. Yes, weather all over always is a bit unpredictable!
Just when I think we are permanently in Spring, there is a threat of snow here too. Beautiful shot Eliza and I love the Mark Twain treatise on New England weather.
Thanks, Dor. Snow this late could pose a big problem for all your plants that have budded out. Let’s hope it doesn’t materialize!
Oooo, wish I was there! 💖❄️💖❄️💖❄️
Good sticky snow for making snowmen!
Yaaaay!! Or snow women!! 😄⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️
🙂 yes, and snow dogs, horses and birds!
Yesssss!! 😄
We had snow, too, and it will be cold all week here in Rochester, NY. We had only one major snowstorm this year; last year we got about 99 inches! What a difference.
I know, big difference. We had an easy winter for a change!
I guess it’s not too bad if it’s a last hurrah, especially if warm is in the forecast. (looks kinda cool to me!)
We’re supposed to be high 80’s tomorrow, but ACTUAL MEASURABLE RAIN and mid 60’s is forecast for later this week. Hurray!
Let’s hope it is the last hurrah. I was really digging the temps in the 60s! Hope you do get some rain. 🙂
I really like your photo. Captures that “why aren’t we sitting outside?” effect. It has rained here and is now supposed to freeze. Luckily, it’s early enough to start over in the garden if things are nipped. I hope it melts soon. Then you’ll be in mud season!
Thank you, Lisa. It is a favorite hang out spot in the warm weather. I have a feeling the snow will be gone by the weekend, if not before. Takes the sting out of it a wee bit!
When it snows this late, you know it won’t be hanging around!
That’s the thought I keep holding onto!
Great photo, even if hate the snow and cold.
Thank you, Victor, much appreciated. It expressed my longing for the warmer weather. 🙂
I like Twain. He grew up about 2 hrs south of here. Local boy does good.
That’s right. 🙂 Twain’s Hartford residence is a little over an hour from us, but I’ve never visited it. Maybe someday. I think Hannibal would be a more fun place to visit.
Hannibal was once, long ago, a very busy and bustling river city. Today, it is a sleepy quiet place. The old waterfront is quaint.
Sounds like a place I would like.
There are a lot of river towns on the Mississippi that were very prosperous in the days of steam boats before the RR. Another we like to visit is McGregor, IA. Just to the north is Marquette. http://www.mcgreg-marq.org/
I need to do a camper van tour!
If you get as far as Iowa, let us know. 🙂
Absolutely, you can count on it!
I love snow since we have so little, but I hope we are done with freezing weather this year. It is still iffy for us. Our usual last frost date is around April 15.
It’s the wildly fluctuating temps that bother me. I have a feeling we’re not through it yet. Ma Nature has the last say here!
Nice photo. I know…New England weather….
And gotta love Mark Twain. A very funny fellow.
Thank you, Mary. Twain’s humor is legendary. And with this weather, I need lots of humor!
Well you can never be bored or certain, in New England Eliza. I love the photo. 🙂
Thank you, Karen. No, never bored with the weather or Nature in general. 🙂
GREAT quote.
I hope the snow moves on soon, that’s too much.
Tomorrow we get a few days of warmth, but more cold for the weekend. Is it May yet? 😉
I’d have loved to have heard that speech delivered (no doubt to gales of appreciative laughter). Thanks for tempting me to read it! It must not be easy for plants to deal with rapid extremes of temperature.
Thank you, Susan. I fear we will have lost many of our spring flowers for this year. Daphne and hellebore, even the daffs, look desiccated. Crocus are gone and they were looking so splendid. Sigh. I’m trying to get over it!
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie and commented:
How can you get bored with all that snow?
Who wants to build a snowman? 😉 Thanks for the reblog.
I would love to build a snowman, we don’t get much snow here…
You are welcome to mine anytime! 😀
Thank you, I would love that!
Good grief
My thoughts exactly! ;-D
Hard to believe its April! Thankfully it will melt soon. 🙂
Yes, I’m counting on that!
We had to get the John Deere out to blow the snow off the driveways, and I had to shovel. Shovel in April. If Mother Nature only cared how done I am with winter. 🙂
It did feel strange to be shoveling so much snow, more like Dec. than April. Even though we had taken the snow tires off the cars, we hadn’t yet put the snow blower away, thankfully, as it came in quite handy!
Yes, we were talking about taking the blower off the John Deere to put the mowing deck on – good thing we didn’t. 🙂
Spoken like a true Yankee. I remember that Mother’s Day storm in the early 70s that dumped a foot of wet snow, do you remember it? We don’t generally switch out ’til it’s time to mow!
I love the notion of Twain’s weather apprentices. The very newest hires must be in charge this week–what a roller coaster. And we may get more snow this weekend in Maine. I love the variety, but, oh, it will feel so sweet when the warm weather really sets in.
I agree, I was very happy last week when the temps were in the 60s!
Sounds a bit like the weather we sometimes get here in Norway.
Nature is quite unpredictable!
Indeed it is 🙂
So true! But six inches of snow in April is most unwelcome. In central Maine, we only got a fizzle of snow that didn’t add up to anything. However, as Pagedogs notes, snow is predicted this weekend. Spring, where art thou?
My sister said we’ve already had more snow in April than we had in all of Feb. Upside down seasons!
Upside down is right! Funny how we are north of you and yet get little snow.
The storms track differently, I think. For a while it was up the coast. This one was west to east. And then of course, there’s those dreaded nor’easters!
Throw hurricanes into the mix, and there is always something to worry about.
IKR? 😉
i think that the weather in New England and Scotland are linked together. lol
Yes, I can imagine! Therein might be the reason why the colonists called the land New England and Nova Scotia! 😉
You got even more snow than we did! Saturday here was crazy. You’d look out the front door and see the sun, but out the back door, it was snowing. Sounds like you got some of that a couple days later!
Yes, I think so!
ahhh the picture draws me to want to sit, bundled cozy and just enjoy the crisp air.. all too soon, it will be hot, humid and scorching sun =^_^=
Yes, warm days will be hear before we know it. Where do you call home?
How I enjoyed this and now don’t feel so bad. We have snow here too, Eliza. All I want to do is take a long winter’s nap. 😉 ❤
Curl up with your kitties! 🙂
I was surprised to see this lovely, but unexpected image in April. When do you consider it safe to put your winter woollies away?.
Thank you, Ann. We can get a frost as late as the 3rd week of May, although days are generally warm. Last year, after a few gray, cool days I even built a small fire in June, though that is rare. We are generally frost free May to the end of Sept.
That tree and the chairs look like they’re having a very interesting conversation … probably about the weather though! 🙂
Maybe so. That tree and I have conversations now and again… 😉
Love the quote Eliza! 36 types of weather in a day? My goodness! Here we are fairly landlocked, so we usually have fair warning of any changes on the way. Hope your snow doesn’t stick around too long!
Thank you, Cathy. I think Twain was humorously exaggerating a bit to make his point, but the weather can change without a lot of warning. Of course, back then, there were no satellites to let us know what was coming!
Tomorrow it will warm a bit followed by another cold spell for the weekend, but I expect eventually the sun will prevail!
Oh dear! It looks like another world to me. We are wearing T-shirts over here…
Okay, go ahead and rub it in! ;-D
Interesting weather in New England! That’s amazing! We had a very warm/hot Fall & Winter here in Philadelphia and now our Spring has been so cold! It hasn’t snowed yet this Spring but it’s supposed to soon. I love the diversity. It’s a blessing to experience a full spectrum of weather, even though some of it can seem unpleasant. 😀
Yes, a lesson in acceptance and non-resistance!
Brilliant manl-love Mark Twain—My youngest moved to Boston last summer he told us schools were closed for snow day, He told us he thought-geez, I would love to have a snow day!
Thank you, Robbie. Yes, schools close but everyone else is expected to show up for BAU. 🙂
As much as I try to avoid it, it looks like I will be seeing some more snow Eliza. Love the Mark Twain excerpt!
Thanks, Kathy. Yes, Nature has a few more tricks up her sleeve, I’m afraid. However, the sun will win eventually. 🙂
Eliza, I had never read that bit by Mark Twain. It captures the NE perfectly. The picture makes me want to get out my snowshoes!
Amazingly, we didn’t need our snowshoes once all winter. Last winter, we shoed every day for six weeks or more. This was a very different winter!
A saying when in the mountains… ‘If you don’t like the weather just wait 10 minutes’… very true, not only in New England but here in Colorado too. I think our weather is quite similar with humidity being the biggest difference. Love the photo… so uninviting!
😀 Thanks, Denise.
And one is never bored of reading Mark Twain! He is one of the authors I wish I could have met. such a lively mind, and, like me, he felt his house had a face, heart and soul. Thank you for this delightful post. Eliza.
Thank you for your visit and follow, Cynthia!
I’m sorry, ha! Although when you guys were getting beautiful sunny days in March, we were freezing our buns off in Italy. Seems the tables have turned, although I wish we could both have the sun!
Glad to report that past few days have been lovely and this weekend will be 70 and sunny – yay! Such a joy spring is! Hope your weather improves as well.
Awesome!! Glad you’re having a lovely weekend. 🙂 Yes, how weird spring is. My friend in Colorado just posted a photo of a snow storm!
Yes, I saw a photo of tulips and snow – very weird!