Washington DC's Famous Cherry Trees Blossoming To Ring In 2007 - WP

[hatrack]

EDIT

Pansies filled yards with blues, pinks and yellows, a common December sight in Washington. Unusual, though, were the small yellow blossoms bursting forth on several forsythia bushes, a blast of color that typically does not show until spring. Drawing particular attention were the four spindly 8-foot-tall cherry trees in front of Chkhenkeli's five-story apartment building, Macomb Gardens, west of Wisconsin Avenue. At least admirers thought they were cherry trees, with scores of white-pink blossoms, each about a half-inch in diameter.

Claudia Olson, manager of perennials at Johnson's Florist and Garden Center, confirmed the identification. She said that she had seen the trees a week ago and that they appeared to be an autumnal variety, sometimes known as rosebud or winter cherry. They are known for blooming in winter if the weather is warm enough.

Olson said she was more worried about local holly bushes, magnolias and the grape vines at the winery near her home in Dickerson. They could be hurt by a cold spell if the temperature drops too quickly, leaving the plants with little time to adjust.

The National Weather Service is trying to figure out the chances of that happening, Zubrick said. Yesterday's high was about 48 degrees, and its low was 38 degrees, compared with the day's average high of 43 and low of 29.

EDIT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/31/AR2006123101043.html

[MountainLaurel]

1. Oh. Crap.

I noticed that this forum is filled with articles today about unseasonable weather. That 10-year change James Hansen was talking about has begun.

[bananas]

2. Happy new year!

Crap is an important part of the ecosystem!

[MountainLaurel]

3. True, true

:rofl:

[GliderGuider]

4. I just did a cut and paste of all the weather headlines on this page

and posted the list to another board that is filled with climate ostriches. I pulled 20 headlines - it's a sobering compendium.

[MountainLaurel]

5. Frightening, isn't it?

How can these people continue to keep their heads in the sand? Will their SUVs have to float away in a giant flood caused by melting glaciers first?

[phantom power]

6. Right, and that's what -- a week's worth of headlines?

You could make a similar list for every week. Week after week, year after year...

[Dead_Parrot]

7. Good job, too.

If you had time to actually think about one headline - say, bears not hibernating - and think about how profound a change it is and what the ramifications might be, you'd go mad. Happily, all there is time to do is say "oh fuck", think up a quick joke then move on the next one.

Uggianaqtuq.

[BR_Parkway]

8. you should post that list here as it's own topic, I'll help kick it to the

Greatest so maybe someone will see it and realize.