Even after more than three years in Hartselle, it still surprises me that it gets so cold in north Alabama.  

I had never lived north of Birmingham until I moved to the Tennessee Valley from Opelika – 100 miles farther south from where I spent many of my formative years.   

When I first moved here, I remember it snowed in November, and I had never seen snow that early in the season. Snow was reserved for the month of February, and it fell for maybe for half an hour every couple of years. Our snowmen were snow midgets, and truth be told, I was OK with it.  

Snow is magical – to look at from the comfort from my home. I don’t really want to get out in it.  

Ice is great – in an iced coffee. I don’t want it on the roads causing problems for those trying to get to work or the grocery store and definitely not for those utility workers who brave the weather working to restore our power.  

Salt is perfect – in guacamole and in the Gulf, but I don’t want to have to salt our streets to make our necessary travel safer.  

Overall, winter weather makes me nervous.  

Even when the weather is not causing issues, I very much prefer spring and fall to the bitter cold of February. My favorite season in Alabama is actually that week at the end of October I like to call Finter – the week between fall and winter when it is perfect outside. I’m longing for the days when it doesn’t take four layers and a scarf to warm up after being outside for 30 seconds.  

Maybe I’m spoiled; I am after all, writing this column from the comfort of a warm office. I’m not out in the cold pouring concrete and tying rebar like a construction worker or repairing downed power lines like those who work for Hartselle Utilities.  

The Pennsylvania groundhog just saw his shadow – or didn’t see it, I’m not sure. Whichever it was, it’s the one that apparently means I can’t put up my winter coat for a little while longer.  

Spring is coming though! For everyone else who can’t wait for a little warmth in the air and for the flowers to start blooming – we’re getting there.