'Srainin'

The temperature went up overnight, and when I got up this morning, it was 55 degrees F (13 C).

Two hours later, the temperature dropped to 35 deg. F (2 C), where it stuck. And it's raining.

As long as it's still winter-y, I prefer snow to rain. Snow reflects whatever light we get and makes it seem brighter even through the clouds. Snow cold is usually a dry cold, whereas rain cold is a damp, penetrating joint-creaking chill.

More importantly, if spring advances too fast, I won't get any maple sap for maple syrup. The sap run depends on below-freezing night temperatures and above-freezing daytime ones. 55 F need not apply. I don't like to tap in rainy weather, when I feel like I must be getting all rain water in the collecting containers.

So I started knitting on the purple waffle scarf again, as a kind of voodoo hint to the weather that a little more winter is in order.

It always helps, when you're doing weather voodoo, if the forecast is already on your side:

Today: A chance of thunderstorms until midday. Rain...snow. Snow accumulation an inch or less. Highs around 50. Temperature steady or slowly falling in the afternoon. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

And since I didn't post over the weekend, other than colored Polish chickens and full-spectrum weather forecasts, I didn't get to note that my husband decided a trip to town was in order.

In the spirit of combining errands, I checked for another skein of the Jardin yarn. Yes! Not only was it in stock, I even got the same dye lot. So now my blended-with-gray stripe becomes a design feature, instead of a way of stretching out the last of the yarn. Whew.