COLD SPRING
After my decision to turn off my furnace on May 1st—a nice, sunny day—I had doubts about that decision. I wondered: is it just me or my part of the world that’s feeling the cold? What can explain this ‘winter weather’ in May? A meteorologist says it’s cold air coming down from the Artic. Fine, but I really want to know how long it’s going to continue? How much more can I endure? I don’t want to turn my furnace on again, if it’s going to warm up soon. It’s a challenge, for sure. I’m testing my resilience. I have heavy sweaters to wear around the house, and I don’t sit for long, or else I’ll feel the cold. When I go outside to walk, cycle or work in the garden, I actually warm up nicely. That is, when it’s not raining cats and dogs…
Looking at the temperatures and rainfall that are making news these days, I’m relieved to learn that it’s not just me. Normally in May, at this time, daytime highs are 17–18℃ and overnights are usually around 8–9℃. When I googled Vancouver’s temperature and rainfall, I found out that some days in May, particularly last Thursday, broke or equaled record lows from years ago, even a century ago.
This month, Vancouver Island is bearing the brunt of it. For example: Victoria broke its 1945 record low temperature of 11.7℃, by recording 10.6℃; temperatures were as low as 9℃ in Nanaimo and Port Alberni; and records of daytime lows and rainfall were broken in other parts of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
On Thursday, in BC, more than a dozen low temperature and rainfall records were broken. Vancouver broke its 1964 recorded daytime low of 11.1℃, by recording 10.5℃. West Vancouver’s new record of daytime low is 8.9℃, down from 9℃, set in 1986.
The unusually cold weather is affecting my garden. It’s missing Spring. In April, when I saw many dandelions flowering, I put out half of my Mason bee cocoons, saved from last fall. About a week later, when I checked on them, most had hatched, but the females didn’t stick around to lay eggs in my bee boxes. So I waited another week and put the rest of them out. The weather was warm on that day. But not long after, it got cold again—too cold for Mason bees to do their work. Result: no females laying eggs in my bee boxes. I wondered if there was something wrong with my bee boxes. I have no idea where they went or if they died off. The Mason bee is the best bee to pollinate apple blossoms, but I’m not sure if the bees were able to pollinate my apple tree. I think the timing was off, between the appearance of hardy dandelions—all over my yard!— and the small, fragile apple blossoms, greatly affected by the cold and the heavy rains, lately. So, I’m not the only one facing a challenge, eh?
Fiona