Nostalgic for the North

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The Villages is lovely, honestly. But I still have days when I really miss the north.

So here's a picture of my old back yard.

The tree in the forefront is my "mama maple." One of her "children" is directly behind her to the right, there are five more of her kids behind the fence. The blue-grey square next to her is the facade of our compost heap. The spikes sticking up in a circle around her I call LogHenge, it's a sculpture design I created with upended logs from trees we took down on our property, antique bricks we found mostly in our back yard (the entire town was the #1 source of bricks in the country when it was first settled in the 1700's), some boulders, and an antique white enamel sink we found in the back yard that I put on an old park bench and made a planter out of it.

Mama maple is around 250 years old. Ours were all sugar maples.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

This is what my yard looked like before we got the new fence. You can see "loghenge" surrounding the Mama Maple a lot better. I took the picture through the screen window in my office. It was mostly a wilderness - nothing could really grow under the maple because of the shade, and because the previous owners tied their dog to a run back there and he destroyed the soil. That's why I covered the whole thing with mulch and didn't try to grow anything except in the sink on the park bench (where I grew lemon thyme and dill).

Pretty sure this shot was taken in early September before the leaves started to turn.

[Garywt]

Stay warm, still very cold up here, you would get over missing it fast.

[G.R.I.T.S.]

This is what my yard looked like before we got the new fence. You can see "loghenge" surrounding the Mama Maple a lot better. I took the picture through the screen window in my office. It was mostly a wilderness - nothing could really grow under the maple because of the shade, and because the previous owners tied their dog to a run back there and he destroyed the soil. That's why I covered the whole thing with mulch and didn't try to grow anything except in the sink on the park bench (where I grew lemon thyme and dill).

Pretty sure this shot was taken in early September before the leaves started to turn.

Both are lovely. Looks like a lot of work needed to keep it up.😬

[Mortal1]

A sink in the yard is sometimes an indication of a trash collector who then calls the stuff "art"...it's not. You'd have less nostalgia if bought a shovel...filled it rocks and bent over with them a few hundred times simulating snow shoveling....

[Bjeanj]

Those trees are lovely. Sadly, I don’t think they do well down here.

[stan the man]

Will send a picture of the lower 40 if you wish

[John_W]

...

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

A sink in the yard is sometimes an indication of a trash collector who then calls the stuff "art"...it's not. You'd have less nostalgia if bought a shovel...filled it rocks and bent over with them a few hundred times simulating snow shoveling....

It's also an indication of a property that was once a farm in the 1700's, and then eventually subdivided. The original farmhouse was next door to us. There was a small trailer park in the back of our property in the 1950's, and the sink was brought in some time in the 1940's. When they tore the trailer park down to build a senior apartment complex, they left the sink behind - along with many of the bricks that had been part of the original farm's outbuildings.

No, I wasn't a trash collector. And yes, I did turn a 1940's white enameled cast-iron sink into a planter. And built a short wall around the tree with antique bricks.

If you have a problem with my idea of repurposing antiques and vintage objects into artistic endeavors, then I feel sorry for your lack of creativity. Your life must be very boring if you aren't capable of existing unless everything fits precisely into its intended spot and anything that doesn't be immediately destroyed.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Both are lovely. Looks like a lot of work needed to keep it up.😬

Not much really. I had to weed through the mulch and re-mulch once a year. We also had to pay someone to trim the tree and remove a couple of the other trees that were too close to the house. Because the soil had already been destroyed and it was a fenced-in back yard, there was no need to resod it or try to restore the soil. I had an herb garden on the side of the garage, and we put a pool out behind the garage and built a walkway with pavers to a new paver patio out back. The rest of the yard was left mostly for wildflowers (which we mowed down a few times a year, heh) and a huge patch of moss that hubby used as a putting green.

(our property was on a 1/2-acre corner lot, only the front yard wasn't wooded).

[Aloha1]

As a kid, I used to love the first and subsequent snowfalls up until January 1st.Then I was done and wanted shorts weather. We still go back "up north' a couple months in the summer because the weather is pretty perfect ( except for last year when it matched TV in both temp and humidity). But the past is just that, the past. We've moved on.

[DeanFL]

.
.
I grew up and lived the first 35 years of life near Chicago.
Then moved to Boston area for the next 20 years.
And now 17 now in Florida.

If I have the hankering to go north, I go to Ocala.

I'm SO DONE with cold and snow and ice and...
.
.

[manaboutown]

Living year round in the north didn't agree with me. I moved to Rochester, NY in June after I finished my education in DC. The summer there was incredible with long beautiful days. I loved the Thousand Islands and Finger Lakes regions. Then....winter came with 144 inches of snow (1970-71) instead of the 72" average. The short heavily overcast days were just too much for me and as soon as possible I found another job in the southwest, near where I grew up. I tell people the longest 20 years I ever spent were 30 months in Rochester. Interestingly, I knew several fellow students from Rochester and none of them wanted to move back. The two I knew well remained in the DC area.

[Jima64]

I do believe most people miss the fun times of somewhere else in they're life just a bit. Way to o ly remember the good things. I moved west to San Fran for 20 years and then returned to the home my parents raised me in. I have fond memories of both cities and will never regret moving.

[Stu from NYC]

This is my front yard in 2010, that's why I moved here in 2011.

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p960x960/161786239_1888990251265498_2864864535944871850_o.j pg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=Ppa5hLY8_fkAX9I0lDv&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&tp=6&oh=621d8ac9ed2f84a306d6bf91db00a69b&oe=6077751D

At least it looks pretty. Times like this glad I was able to work from home last 18 years living in Va.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

We had a record snowfall in 2011 in my town (North Haven, CT). We got 40 inches in one storm. And we had back-to-back storms that week, so we had over 6 feet of snow in some spots of the town. Several people had massive damage to their homes from the weight of the snow, which compacted and iced over when the sun hit it and it refroze that night, and caused ice dams on the gutters. The people across the street from our house lost their gutters completely and we lost a tree in our front yard. We had damage to our walls from the melting snow. But our roof guy checked out the attic and said that our home - which was built in 1958, had a particular bracing structure that was virtually indestructible, and it held up perfectly. So we had damage to the living room ceiling and water got into the attic but the roof and frame and beams of the house were fine.

Getting out of the house was a nightmare. We were one of the fortunate people who already got our roof rake before the storm began, but it took us three days, hours and hours every day, to clean the roof and shovel out way to the detached garage, so that we could reach our snowblower and plow our way to our cars, so we could clean our cars off. Not that there was anywhere to go - our street wasn't plowed for two days and the smaller side-roads that lead to the main state road didn't get done for a week.

[tophcfa]

After spending an entire fun filled winter at the Villages, responsibilities will soon reluctantly drag my sorry a$$ back north. I will sadly go there kicking and screaming, wishing I was spending my days swimming laps in beautiful outdoor pools surrounded by palm trees and then going for a bike ride and playing golf.

[billethkid]

The snowy scenes on Christmas cards is all I need.

If/when I should travel to where there are no palm trees....I know I have wandered too far North!!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

At least it looks pretty. Times like this glad I was able to work from home last 18 years living in Va.

It does look pretty. But as you know in about two days all of those snow banks will be black.

[PugMom]

if i remember correctly, you guys in north haven always got a bit more hammered than we did in w hart. we lost power during that storm, about 11 days, hunkered down in front of a fireplace. that was 1 wicked ice storm

[Stu from NYC]

It does look pretty. But as you know in about two days all of those snow banks will be black.

Very true

Do not miss shoveling out our cars. Lived on top of a hill and could not leave until they plowed our roads which sometimes took 3 to 4 days

[LiverpoolWalrus]

I remember that. Snowmaggedon, right, JohnW? I was in MD and was so over it. I decided to move to FL long before that, but work in DC got in the way. Until 2011.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

This is what my yard looked like before we got the new fence. You can see "loghenge" surrounding the Mama Maple a lot better. I took the picture through the screen window in my office. It was mostly a wilderness - nothing could really grow under the maple because of the shade, and because the previous owners tied their dog to a run back there and he destroyed the soil. That's why I covered the whole thing with mulch and didn't try to grow anything except in the sink on the park bench (where I grew lemon thyme and dill).

Pretty sure this shot was taken in early September before the leaves started to turn.

Love the loghenge (and big mama). Is it also a sundial or does it point the way to the galaxy our ancestors came from?

Northern trees are nice, as are mountains, but IMO they don’t top FL’s warm year-round climate.

[Madelaine Amee]

The older I get the more I miss NH, no not the snow and the cold weather, but I miss the State Fairs, the wonderful fresh mornings and the green real trees. We lived most of or lives in the suburbs of Boston and I certainly do not miss the travel to work in the morning or the commute in the evening on 128; but I would not have to do that now, and I would not have to shovel snow or go out when it is cold.

On the other hand there is much that I love about living here, but how I DREAD the summer heat and humidity, both of which he loves!

So , my other half LOVES it here so I am here for as long as he is!:icon_wink:

[bobdeb]

My wife and I used to run all year round in the hills of New Hampshire. And that was regardless of the temperature in the winter. And I mean long runs in order to train for the Boston Marathon in April.

We reminisce about it often, but somewhere along the way it did get cold and raw and tiresome at times.
She misses Christmas in New England. I don't miss shoveling snow off my farmhouse porch because it had piled up so high.

I miss our apple trees, but I love it here in Florida now. There's is beauty everywhere if you look for it.

I have to admit that hiking in NH was spectacular in the fall. I miss that... and apple picking... damn.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

if i remember correctly, you guys in north haven always got a bit more hammered than we did in w hart. we lost power during that storm, about 11 days, hunkered down in front of a fireplace. that was 1 wicked ice storm

Yes our town broke the state historic record that year. Snow storm around X-mas, followed by another one, followed by the ice storm, followed by a melt and re-freeze followed by two more snowstorms. Dozens of cars abandoned on I-91 because the traffic was crawling and the snow was piling up faster than the cars could get through it. An entire family died, somewhere near the Mass Pike I believe, when the man got out to try and find help and got lost in the storm. His wife and baby both were found dead, and he was found only a few dozen yards away from the car, also dead.

They had a full parking ban and emergency order throughout our town, but not everyone was home to be able to get their cars off the side of the road. The snow piled up so high with the wind drifts that the plows couldn't even tell that there were cars there - until the plows rammed into the cars and destroyed them (and destroyed the plows in the process).

Multi-million dollar damage, to personal property and to town property.

Thankfully - North Haven had a zero-dollar deficit and a cushion of general fund money plus a HUGE public works department budget. They got emergency funding from the government to cover whatever the town couldn't already handle themselves, but it was paid back easily because the town's government was (and still is) top-notch.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I remember that. Snowmaggedon, right, JohnW? I was in MD and was so over it. I decided to move to FL long before that, but work in DC got in the way. Until 2011.

"Snowmageddon" happened two months before the January blizzard. It was more widespread - snow accumulated at around 4" per hour and the roads were shut down then as well.

It was basically just a horror-movie's worth of snow that whole year. Generator manufacturers had a field day.

[rustyp]

88758

My neck of the woods Beaver River Station NY

March 9 2021 Copenhagen NY near my neck of the woods snowfall total to date 21 FEET. Most to date in 2021 in the USA including Alaska.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

88758

My neck of the woods Beaver River Station NY

March 9 2021 Copenhagen NY near my neck of the woods snowfall total to date 21 FEET. Most to date in 2021 in the USA to date including Alaska.

That is BEAUTIFUL. Plus I love the truck. Those trees - hit me right in my feelings place.

[Gulfcoast]

I was in the DC area for Snowmeggdon. There is nothing quite like being inside a warm and cozy house with the snow falling outside...there is a part of me that misses the snow. But I don't miss broken branches, fallen trees, treacherous roads, slippery walkways or all that shoveling.

[thelegges]

We go north to spend time when it snows. Nothing like opening garage door, drifts few feet high, start the sleds, and off you go. Once cold sets in, return to garage, get in the jeep, and find something to eat.
Love 2 am outside watching the snow fall. Then when we tire of the fluffy white stuff, back to TV. Hope our age never gets in the way of change in seasons

[RICH1]

Do they have medicinal marijuana in your hometown? Enjoy the Gummies down here and enjoy your life! Lots of memories to make

[PugMom]

We go north to spend time when it snows. Nothing like opening garage door, drifts few feet high, start the sleds, and off you go. Once cold sets in, return to garage, get in the jeep, and find something to eat.
Love 2 am outside watching the snow fall. Then when we tire of the fluffy white stuff, back to TV. Hope our age never gets in the way of change in seasons

i enjoyed that lifestyle in my younger days, i couldn't wait to get out in the snow. it was arthritis that made 1 of the decisions to move, & must admit, i don't miss it anymore. a few days ago i checked the weather report for Ct., was -11*, and i was very grateful to be here reading about it online where our Fl temps were close to *80.

[Topspinmo]

After spending an entire fun filled winter at the Villages, responsibilities will soon reluctantly drag my sorry a$$ back north. I will sadly go there kicking and screaming, wishing I was spending my days swimming laps in beautiful outdoor pools surrounded by palm trees and then going for a bike ride and playing golf.

Have you spent summer down here yet? Pools turn into hot tubes, by noon so hot and muggy few are out after lunch until 6 pm except for few golfers. 90 degree can feel like 115. IMO snowbirds have the best of both worlds.

[MickeyStevens]

Have you spent summer down here yet? Pools turn into hot tubes, by noon so hot and muggy few are out after lunch until 6 pm except for few golfers. 90 degree can feel like 115. IMO snowbirds have the best of both worlds.

Yes we do.

[tophcfa]

Have you spent summer down here yet? Pools turn into hot tubes, by noon so hot and muggy few are out after lunch until 6 pm except for few golfers. 90 degree can feel like 115. IMO snowbirds have the best of both worlds.

We have never spent an entire summer here, but we come down for a couple of weeks every year to check on the house, work on the yard, etc.... I actually love the humidity and heat, it’s the unpredictable daily thunder and lightning that I dislike, as well as the hurricane watch. It seems like almost every day I have to cut my lap swimming and golf short to avoid getting electrocuted. We love the summer up north, except for the flesh eating horseflies. Every year we spend at least a week each on the beautiful beaches of Cape Cod, Road Island, and Maine. We also love to take in a few outdoor concerts at places like Tanglewood and spend time swimming and fishing at the family’s seasonal lake cottage in the Berkshires. In a perfect world, with no responsibilities, my preference would be to be at the Villages from mid October through mid May (perhaps take off to the Caribbean for a month of scuba diving and snorkeling in January) and be up north in between.

[Neils]

Try pouring salt all over your car and walk to the store with roller skates (simulate ice) and shovel a big pile of rocks in your garden

[thelegges]

i enjoyed that lifestyle in my younger days, i couldn't wait to get out in the snow. it was arthritis that made 1 of the decisions to move, & must admit, i don't miss it anymore. a few days ago i checked the weather report for Ct., was -11*, and i was very grateful to be here reading about it online where our Fl temps were close to *80.

It was 25 to 35 degrees for ten days. Snow was beautiful, on the 11 day temp went to 60, snow melted, grass looked pathetic, we flew back, to TV.
Love the fall when leaves start to drop, then after 8 bags, call the lawn company to finish. Hoping we have a long ways to go before we can’t enjoy winter toys.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

Have you spent summer down here yet? Pools turn into hot tubes, by noon so hot and muggy few are out after lunch until 6 pm except for few golfers. 90 degree can feel like 115. IMO snowbirds have the best of both worlds.

Coastal south Florida is the answer. Often 20 degrees warmer than the Villages in winter and the coastal breezes keep it cooler in summer.

[MrFlorida]

Not me, I moved here from the North to get away from the cold and snow..... I'm an endless summer kind of guy.

[valuemkt]

The Villages is lovely, honestly. But I still have days when I really miss the north.

So here's a picture of my old back yard.

The tree in the forefront is my "mama maple." One of her "children" is directly behind her to the right, there are five more of her kids behind the fence. The blue-grey square next to her is the facade of our compost heap. The spikes sticking up in a circle around her I call LogHenge, it's a sculpture design I created with upended logs from trees we took down on our property, antique bricks we found mostly in our back yard (the entire town was the #1 source of bricks in the country when it was first settled in the 1700's), some boulders, and an antique white enamel sink we found in the back yard that I put on an old park bench and made a planter out of it.

Mama maple is around 250 years old. Ours were all sugar maples.

There are plenty of beautiful Spanish Oaks all through this area. If you are missing the mess under the pretty tree, that's why we have ARC and other restrictions, as I'm wondering if what's not in the picture is a pickup on blocks. If you're missing the snow, after 40 years of shoveling blowing 100+ inches a year, you are certainly in the minority. I imaging many snowbirds would gladly let you occupy their home in January / February for a nice rent reduction when they stay in your place here .. Snow is prettier and easier to manage when looked at in pictures

[manaboutown]

I refuse to live anywhere palm trees will not grow and the sun does not shine most of the time.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

It was 25 to 35 degrees for ten days. Snow was beautiful, on the 11 day temp went to 60, snow melted, grass looked pathetic, we flew back, to TV.
Love the fall when leaves start to drop, then after 8 bags, call the lawn company to finish. Hoping we have a long ways to go before we can’t enjoy winter toys.

Our town had curbside leaf pickup 2x each Autumn. No bags necessary. Hubby used the leafblower, I used the rake. Pile it up at the curb, then I climbed onto the pile at one end. Stomp my way to the other end to compact the pile. At the last bit, I turn around and lean back, arms stretched out wide and flop right down on the wonderful colorful crinkly leaf pile. It's my favorite time of year. Or was...

[PugMom]

yeah, i think fall was my favorite season there, it meant we'd get fresh everything @ Lyman's Orchard's, or going over to stew leonard's to stock up for kids' halloween parties. there was just a nip in the air before winter was on the way again, but lovely sunsets

[thelegges]

yeah, i think fall was my favorite season there, it meant we'd get fresh everything @ Lyman's Orchard's, or going over to stew leonard's to stock up for kids' halloween parties. there was just a nip in the air before winter was on the way again, but lovely sunsets

Fresh cider and hot donuts at the cider mills, was the trip after day of raking the multi color leaves. We have 6 mills within 20 minutes of house, each different due to the apples variety pressed, and the donut recipe. One was across the street from my hospital. On a bad day, someone would run over get 6 dozen donuts, and gallons of cider. Funny the things we miss.

[tophcfa]

yeah, i think fall was my favorite season there, it meant we'd get fresh everything @ Lyman's Orchard's, or going over to stew leonard's to stock up for kids' halloween parties. there was just a nip in the air before winter was on the way again, but lovely sunsets

When I worked in Hartford we played golf often at Lyman Orchards. Two beautiful 18 hole courses.

[Nucky]

I miss the North less and less as time passes. I don’t tease family and friends when they are in snow up to their, well deep snow anyway. The Florida life is the one for me with only one drawback. Hurricanes! Up North we worried about NOTHING!

[J1ceasar]

Yeah I miss all of that shoveling also. But honestly a cold crisp day in winter once in a while in Florida is okay. I enjoy when the trees change color even in Florida it's lovely. I enjoyed the best pizza in Chinese food in New Jersey and the fact that I could go to a shore even all year round being 10 minutes over the toms River bridge and have my own little walk on the boardwalk, have Rita's ices as well has all the small independent retailers that were n ot pushed out by big box stores

[Tmarkwald]

I remember that. Snowmaggedon, right, JohnW? I was in MD and was so over it. I decided to move to FL long before that, but work in DC got in the way. Until 2011.

I was inside the Beltway working for snowmageddon. Closed everything down. Tried to make it home - made it as far as the Marriott by Andrews AFB..
.