Relative Something

Yesterday, I finally got around to plowing the drifts out of the driveway, after work. When I finished with the plowing, and was working on cleaning the residual snow out of the bucket, I began to wonder if this might be the last time I will need to plow snow this season. It’s not a sure thing, but there is that possibility.

I have recently heard mention of the chance for more snow this coming Sunday, which would be right on schedule for the recent trend, but the predictions seem to be dropping in amount and likelihood day by day.

I will be much more willing to tolerate driving over a few inches, instead of plowing it, since any snow that comes this time of year tends to melt swiftly under the springtime sun.

After work yesterday, I stepped out the door without my jacket on, with the temperature in the mid 20s (F), and marveled over how warm it felt. That always intrigues me, because the same temperature in September would feel ridiculously cold.

Thinking more about the nuances of that phenomenon, beyond the common explanation having to do with thickness of blood, it is possible to understand other factors which contribute to the difference.

In the springtime, on a sunny day when the nominally measured temperature is in the mid to upper 20’s, many surfaces are absorbing that sunlight, and rising well above freezing. Feeling that sunshine on my face, as I stepped into the rays, brought an instant sensation of warmth.

If it were this sunny on an afternoon in September or October, it would feel equally as warm, or warmer, and the temperature could easily rise into the 60s or 70s. The days in the autumn when it feels so cold, as the temperature drops toward freezing, will tend to be cloudy and windy. If it weren’t, the temperature wouldn’t go down so low.

If it is cloudy and windy in the spring, the mid-20s don’t feel nearly as comfortable as it did to me yesterday. There is more contributing to our temperature perceptions than simply the number of degrees being reported by a thermometer.

Not that any of that is required thinking. Just step out into that sunlight and soak up the energy. Even with all the snow we still have on the ground around here, you can sure feel the warmth of spring in our air.