Friday Follies ~~ Seasonal Gambling

I just put my winter weight, heavy, neoprene cycling boot covers away.  I know it’s a risk.  This is always the first step in the semi-annual Ritual of the Wardrobe Turnover.

Every year this is an occasion for stress and sometimes chaotic panic.  Just when do we get all of the Summer stuff out, and put all of the Winter stuff away?  This is no small thing.  I do not like cold!  More, it hurts me, and can make me sick.  So it’s a real act of faith when I start to store cold weather gear.

And, what about the Spring Haircut?  I have a pattern, going back many years, for cycling hair and beard through the seasons.  I stop cutting my hair, and start growing my “Winter Beard,” in mid-Fall.  I will need the insulation.  Once, many years ago, I gave in to pressure.  In the middle of the Winter I cut the hair short, and shaved the beard off.  The next day a huge arctic front arrived and settled in.  I got terribly sick.  I haven’t varied from my pattern since.

But the big question is when to make the change.  When do I trim the beard back, buzz the hair off, and rotate the wardrobe?  I’ve come to use two parallel gauges.  I watch the dogwoods, and I look for two successive spells of 80 degree weather.  The dogwoods are simple.  No matter what, I won’t put cold weather gear away, or change tonsorial status if the dogwoods haven’t bloomed.  On the temperature front, I’m looking for two separate stretches of 80 degree highs.  Note, that’s two separate spells, not two days in a row.  Around here, it will reach 80 (or more) fairly early, and may even stay there for two to four days.  But it will get cooler again.  I don’t feel at all safe until it’s done this at least twice.

Even with blooming dogwoods, and two stretches of warm weather behind us, I’m suspicious and careful.  The heaviest stuff can go into storage, but I still keep items like solid rain gear, and a few knee warmers, a heavy jersey, and such available.

Looks like the first spell of these “80 degree days” may be upon us.  But I’m cautious.  It’s still March for cryin’ out loud.  In our climate April is not too trustworthy, and even May can be tricky.  As of this writing, the dogwoods have not yet bloomed.  So I’ve put away the heavy over-boots, and a few of the most highly insulated gloves, but I’m not breaking out the Summer stuff yet.  I may be wrong, but that's the way I'm betting.