Life and Real Estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

No snowing, no icing, no sleeting, just rain, sweet rain here on Virginia's Eastern Shore today

It  truly feels unreal,  a strange weather disconnect between Virginia’s Eastern Shore and a  wide  areas of nearby states.  Flipping on CNN this morning while waiting for the coffee to brew,  it was just amazing to see the storm pictures on the screen and hear the reported stories.  Thundersnow in Chicago, the snow coming down at 2-3 inches per hour,  with thunder,  lightening and temps near zero.  (Rahm Immanual, you are one strong dude to be battling to return to that climate ! )     Video of 20 inches coming down in Oklahoma,  parts of Wisconsin reporting snow drifts of 10 to 15  feet,  a story of  a snow bank so high in New York that one couple’s dog climbed up the snow and onto their roof  !   Good golly, Miss Molly !    6000 +   flights cancelled because of this storm,  must be close to a record.   It made me shiver to just hear these stories.  Santa, please, please,  please,  bring  all these  folks gift certificates for some  artic weight Patagonia long johns next year !

Then I opened the door to let the dogs out,  took a tentative step onto the wet deck,  a few puddles there from the rain last night and a light sprinkle on- going this morning, fog obscuring views across the water  but temperature-wise, quite mild,  definitely no Patagonia long johns needed here.  (Although I have to say that Youngest Son loves  Patagonia shirts and slacks,  absolutely swears by them,  so I’m pretty familiar with the Christmas gift certificate thingy.  Check them out at www.patagonia.com.)  Then a quick boot-up of  the computer confirmed a very nice day for us in the offing, temperatures here on the Eastern Shore expected to be in the 60’s today  and hovering between the 40’s and 50’s  the rest of the week.  But the weather map showed a nasty streak of deep purple across our neighboring states,  signs of the huge ice storm which is brewing up trouble today.   Freezing rain and sleet is expected to leave up to an inch of ice  in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and  into New England,  which will also be hammered with still more snow.  A bit of trivia– www.weather.com ,  my go-to  web weather source whose headline today is  ” New Month, Same Report : Major Winter Storm On Tap”,  explains that the reason that ice storms cause so many power outages is that a mere 1/2 inch of ice on a  utility wire weighs 500 pounds.  It’s no wonder that  the inch of ice expected to accumulate today in those areas is expected to create significant power outages.     

After nearly 25 years of enjoying the mild and pleasant 4 season weather  here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, truly I can’t imagine living in a climate where you get pounded every winter by terrible cold weather and the days are usually grey and dreary.   And the snow shoveling, the high heating bills,  the bitter cold would be  bad enough but,  in the end,  I  really, really  just don’t see myself as a Patagonia Long John kind of girl !   No,  give me  a coastal life with weather moderated by the  influences of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean which surround our slender peninsula.    Give me a life with the short mild and sunny winters of  the Eastern Shore of Virginia,  a climate  where farmers start plowing and planting by the first of March.   Give me a life with the long cool springs with camillias that bloom by the end of  February and falls with clear blue skies and gorgeous Indian Summer days.  Give me a life with the golden warm sunshine and tangy salt breezes of  easy-living summers on  Virginia’s Eastern Shore.  In 1608,  Captain John Smith of  the Virginia Company of London fame,  while exploring the areas around what is now Cape Charles, Virginia,  wrote in his journal  that   ” Heaven and Earth never agreed better to frame a place for  man’s habitation” .   True  303 years ago and still true today.  So even though it will be raining here today it won’t  be snowing and blowing or sleeting  and  icing .   So I repeat what I said in my post of January 27th,  I’m singing and smiling about today’s rain here on the  Eastern Shore of Virginia !!     P.S. If  you live in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey,  Connecticut and other nearby areas  and you’ve been dreaming of getting out from under bad weather but want someplace close to easily keep in touch with friends and family,  consider a coastal lifestyle  here on the Shore.  Take a look at our waterfront, water access, golf,  town and county and historic properties  listings on www.blueheronva.com .  P.P.S.  Remember what Capt. Smith said– no better place for man’s habitation !