This might not be a big deal to folks in the south

But to northerners it's a big deal... The day can be seen to be noticeably lengthening. But beyond the additional hour(s?) of daylight it means that winters grip on the land of ice and snow will soon be loosening. Winter isn't over yet, but by March the writing will be on the wall. Last year we got our blizzards toward the end of winter, so anything can happen yet this winter. It could also be an early spring. That would be nice.

Edit: I got the subject wrong... just one small word was left out.

It's been an incredibly cold winter for most of the country, but here in the West, it has been extremely mild. We need rain. It's over 80 today in the LA area.

Yes Spring is in the air.
Our last 3 snowfalls were followed with freezing rain. Our driveway was an iceskating rink.

We live in a valley and the house and garage block the low sun casting a shadow on the driveway. I thought the ice would be here until June
But this weekend it went to almost 50°F. The ice melted!!! it is completely gone.

Saturday the drive was dangerously slick. The warm temps melt the surface and leave a film of water. Wet ice is slick as snot as they say.
Cold dry ice is actually not slippery. But on Sunday it melted away. YAY.

Soon it will be sugaring time!!

We got up into the mid 40s. It's going to take a lot of warmth for an extended time to melt our ice. On the bright side... I won't need to re-develop the ice layer to make my snowplow slide over the gravel of the driveway until next winter.

I think we have 2" of ice in the driveway and everywhere I plowed. It did melt some but stayed "pebbly"; that makes it a little easier for walking with baby steps. I hate to put on the cleats. I don't even play games with smooth ice and put the cleats on. No slipping with them installed, but what a pain in the politician to put on! I break too easily (old fart here!). But even under pebbly ice conditions with no cleats I use a motor vehicle of some sort to go down and pick up the mail. Four wheels slide but don't fall and break.

Man, I feel for you guys. I lived back east and in the Chicago area until I was 11 years old, and I vividly remember shoveling snow, buckling boots, and sliding sideways while driving (well, I was a passenger). It adds a whole layer of complexity to life.
I must say I do love living in California.

It’s been a strange winter. The east has been hit with all that craziness. Yet today, my wife and I were talking about how “disappointingly” warm the winter has been here in Vegas.

It’s actually been pleasant in a way, but in about three months, the weather will start to get really hot, and it’ll stay that way for almost half a year. With no breaks, even at night. So it would be nice if it’d be a little cooler before it gets a lot hotter. (Really a minor complaint when considering the winter some of you are experiencing.)

We chose Maine not due to the winter (we were aware and I gripe about it because it interferes with my sport) but because of the absolute glorious summer weather and ambiance. If you don't know you just don't know; good food, clean air, clean water, laid back, and freedom. Deep indigo skies, wildlife, and a cathedral of trees; it's just glorious. Then there is the coast. My adopted state. I'm in love, but I see the few months of warts and they can't be covered up and I gripe. Two more of those, then the reason why we're here begins.

If we were snowbirds there wouldn't be a problem, but we aren't. There would be no interruption in my chosen sport if we were. (I'm a shooting competitor and I have a few warm months to do what at least one competitor I shoot with has all year to maintain and train on. I don't have that. But nature abhors a vacuum and I follow in the wake. So far I keep up in classification even if a few months behind. He's 10 years older and leads. I love competitive shooting, but mostly I shoot against myself. I just want to get better and stay sharp. It's a friendly competition among older folks that doesn't really amount to much, again, just to keep us sharp. )

The days are getting longer here in Nashville and I'm really liking it. It's probably not as pronounced or as much time as you are getting, though it still nice.

Lets see, the weather app says today sunrise at 8:13am sunset at 5:26pm, it could be worse, up in Dawson City Yukon sunrise is 9:59am and sunset 5:03pm, still an improvement since the solstice. Its -16C and snowing and we're looking at 2-3 more months of winter/winter like weather with periodic warming trends to give us hope generally followed by cold and snow to make sure that we don't have too much hope. Excessive hope just encourages weakness of character and makes reality harder to deal with. Of course in late june early july it starts getting light just after 4:00am and stays light until almost 11:00pm so that sort of makes up for it right? When this part of Western Canada was homesteaded it was billed as "The Last Best West" - well that was clever because the folks who came out here thought it was last...best west as in the last of the best places but in reality it was last best....west as in first best, second best, third best...last best which really is another way of saying the worst west. Marketing is all about the spin.

Honestly, most of the places we live, certainly as far as some of the weather is concerned, have pluses and minuses.  The physical beauty of our various home areas might be tempered by weather, human assault, or geography.  The warts are there, I think, to make us appreciate the good.  As a place to live, I feel as strongly about San Diego as ShadowsDad feels about Maine or PhilNH5 feels about New Hampshire.  When I visit my friend,  who lives outside of Buffalo, New York, we sometimes visit Letchworth State Park, about an hour from where he lives.  Sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the East, it is spectacularly beautiful.  Cities, such as my native New York or Chicago, have a buzz and man made beauty that is incredible.  Yet, every one of the places we call home has flaws.  As Brian, Phil, Marko, and others have pointed out, those flaws are worth it for what we love (and may even contribute to that affection).  I, for one, really enjoy hearing about where each of us lives, no matter where that may be.