Sunday Story

As promised in this morning’s blog, I am sending out the Sunday Story this evening. As many of you know, I publish a story every week in both the Fentress Courier and Livingston Enterprise. That story prints on Wednesdays and I then share it here on Sundays.

This week’s topic was the many winters of spring. I hope you enjoy and I hope you’ve had a wonderful Sunday!

The Winters of Spring

With the onset of spring, we expect the occasional nips of cool air that come down from the north from time to time. These cool shots of air often leave us scrambling for those warmer clothes that had slipped into the back of the closet.

Keep in mind that our latest frost on record occurred on June 3, 1956. Can you imagine frost in June? 

Naming the springtime cold air invasions is a southern tradition that goes back in time as far as anyone can remember. The name of the cold spell is associated with whatever is blooming at that time. 

For the cold spell to be named, the cold air must be sufficient in severity to remind one of winter’s chill. 

There are at least four well-known “winters.” The first is Redbud winter, which corresponds to the blooming of the Redbud trees. Next is Dogwood winter, a time of chilly weather when the Dogwoods are in bloom. Locust (tree) winter usually follows Dogwood winter. 

Then, there’s my favorite winter of all. Blackberry winter often leads to frost on the blackberry bushes, which signals the blackberry canes to start growing. Anything that helps get us those sweet, delicious blackberries is fine with me! 

There’s also a fifth winter that you may be less familiar with. Cotton Britches winter is the last of the winters. Folklore says that, “When this little cold spell is over, you can put on your cotton britches, because winter is over.” 

Others believe the last winter is Whippoorwill winter. This cold snap is the least harsh of them all and coincides with the time when Whippoorwills are calling for a mate. This usually comes in May.  

The tug of war between winter and summer can be a wild temperature ride in the spring months! Let’s just hope that in the end we’re left with a pleasant summer.