Thank goodness we have our very own forecasting groundhog here in Raleigh, North Carolina! Our Sir Walter Wally braved the elements and the lingering piles of snow on February 2 to join Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker in a Groundhog Day ceremony and made a prediction for an early spring here in these parts.

While I do feel sorry for those up north for whom Punxsutawney Phil forecast six more weeks of winter, we’ve had enough winter around here already.  Several years worth, as a matter of fact.  Bring on spring!

But Sir Walter Wally, is today’s 34 degrees and rain really part of our early spring plan?!?!

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Yep, it snowed in Raleigh.   The most snow we’ve had in years, actually.  We only had a few inches, but it’s been a couple of years since we’ve had more than a trace.

It was beautiful, too.  So clean and pretty and made everything so quiet.

Quiet because snow does that, and quiet because our city shuts down when it snows.  See, we don’t want to spend our tax dollars on very many snowplows or snow equipment that we’ll need only a few times each decade.  We prefer to shut down our schools and slow down our pace when we get a snow that sticks.  Kind of charming, actually.  Although a lot of the charm wore off for a lot of the people around here after schools were shuttered for three consecutive days.

Oh, but the next time those kids are home because of snow may be several years away.  Enjoy it now.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

So the National Weather Service is predicting that we may have the longest cold stretch in a generation, possibly lasting more than a week.  The forecast is cold:  Highs between 35 and 42 and lows between 17-25.  Oh, and we’re going to have wind chill on top of that.

Even more remarkable than this “prolonged” cold snap, though, is what I heard on my trusty weather radio this afternoon about the average temperatures here in Raleigh, North Carolina, the first week in January.  Namely that our normal average high is 50 and our normal average low is 30.  In January.

I can look back now on my summer entries regarding the heat and know those temperatures are definitely bearable in exchange for these kind of average normal temps come January.  Except for about a week every generation or so.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

That’s what it’s called.  Even though it is actually a visualization of death.  See, each light on this tree represents a life lost on a North Carolina road in the past year.  Those who died in an alcohol-related fatality are represented by red lights.  This tree has 1453 lights and 440 red lights.

This tree with its tragic lights is on the grounds of the capitol each December.  And each year our family stops and looks and reads the numbers and feels the sadness and thinks about the people and the families behind each lightbulb.   It’s powerful.

Raleigh is decked out in holiday finery and ready for company.

The weekend of December 12-13 was a big one in the Downtown Raleigh area featuring beautiful holiday decorations and live music by local performers.  There was the annual Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour, the holiday open house at the Governor’s Mansion, and the holiday open house at the N.C. Capitol Building.

The elaborate decorations at the Governor’s Mansion take six months of planning, and it takes 15 people four days to put them up!  One of the Christmas trees is a tree decorated with items special to North Carolina and its people.  It’s covered in dogwood flowers, pine cones, cardinals, seashells, acorns, and sanddollars.  Another special tree is decorated with more than 650 ornaments made by the sons and daughters of N.C. military service personnel.

Walking around and taking in the sights this time of year is always a satisfying family activity.  And a chill in the air just seems to add the finishing touch.

That’s Life in Raleigh.