The weather in Texas is best explained by a thought experiment called Schrödinger's cat: A hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead, while it is unobserved in a closed box, as a result of its fate being linked to a random event that may or may not occur. Sounds quite a mouthful. Let me simplify this. Texas could be simultaneously in summer, fall, winter and spring as a result of a heat wave, hurricane or cold front arriving or not.
Spring: The house is in a constant state of mess. The yard echoes a similar sentiment. The weed invasion would put the colonists to shame. The ever expanding list of chores and to-dos just keep having their deadlines pushed out. Social interactions have been reduced to the absolute minimum. Just enough to not be labeled as an outcast. Welcome to spring in Texas. The brief period between March and April when Texans can steal a few weeks of actual pleasant weather from under the noses of the weather gods. The trails and bluebonnets are calling and you must go - Household chores and social responsibilities be damned. But this is not to be taken for granted. Some years, spring is just a "seasonal suggestion" not to be taken seriously. We just blaze a trail from the winter freeze to the blistering summer heat. No spring necessary. So, when we do get some actual spring season, we make sure to soak in every moment of it. Just be a bit cognizant on your attire of choice - with temperatures fluctuating faster than a politician's ideology, the decision to wear pants or not can make or break your day. Also, the 5 days of rain that we get a year usually happens during this period. So keep that umbrella handy if you care. A few hopeless romantics would take this opportunity to plant beautiful flowers, manicuring their lawns - all to be followed by heartbreak a few weeks later.
Summer: Out of your window, you just see one color. Brown. Yes, that's the color of the grass, of the trees, of the flower beds. Only thing that's not brown is the sky. That's a blazing fiery white. From 6am to 9pm. That's a de-facto curfew. Ah, the joys of Texas summers. When temps below 100F is considered a cold front. Officially scheduled to start around May and stretch till End of August, summer usually overstays it's welcome by a significant margin. There's evidence of Texans rolling up to Christmas and New Year celebrations in shorts and flip flops. The rain has come and gone leaving the ground as dry as chalk. The perfectly manicured lawns, the colorful flowers planted a week ago look like withering clumps. And no, you cant just water them to bring back some life. We're in a constant state of drought every since Moses parted the seas and the underequipped city water supply does it no favors. But there's a solution - so what the flower beds lacks any color ? You can always head to the local pool or any lake to be dazzled with the incredible splash of colors. From the boats, kayaks, pool noodles, swimming costumes, beach umbrellas and likes. They come in every shape, form, size and color imaginable. It would seem that the rainbows have switched teams and moved down to the lakes. With more humans in the lakes than actual marine life - reservations are strongly recommended. Where you'll no longer need a reservation for would be restaurant patio seating. With the brutal heat denying any outdoor luxuries, we naturally flock towards the airconditioned comforts of the indoors. But not all's bad. Summers in Texas are consistent - It's hot. Every hour, every day, every week. No surprises. No negotiations.
Fall: While rest of the world has named this season on the beautiful visual of leaves falling gently to the ground, not in Texas. Trees that survive the summer apocalypse become too cynical to let go of their leaves. They're never sure if they'll get them back. So not much in the way of falling leaves. In reality Fall in Texas talks about the local meteorologist's fall from grace. All their talents, scientific methods, predictive skills are no match for the curveball called Fall. Will it be hot or cold tomorrow, if you ask them. "Yes" to both they'll respond. Then there's the case for Fools Fall. Which as the name suggests will be foolish to consider as the true arrival of fall. It's just summer stepping away for a quick commercial. Jacket paired with shorts seems to strike the right balance. You feel just one cold front away from a winter that never seems to come. But when they do come, you don't want to caught without your pants. Seriously. Temps can drop from the 80s to the 40s in a few hours. However, there's no need to panic. And absolutely no need to raid the grocery store for milk and toilet paper. The front's going to gone by the time you have finished reading this article. This is also the time when your social media page will be flooded with "fall color" pictures. Your friends up north having a gala time. Fret no. Just drive up to hill country and get your own shots. While not as good as the ones from up north, a little bit of photoshop does wonders. Go for it. We wont judge.
Winter: We never know for sure when we're actually in winter till the first signs of spring appear. It is then that we're certain that we were in winter at some point during the past 2 weeks. Winters in Texas are always enjoyed in nostalgia, in hindsight as the moments are too fleeting to cherish real time. But nostalgia as always visualized through rose colored lenses, winters in Texas are beautiful. And it's beautiful not because of all the things it brings with it. Rather we like it for the things it does NOT bring with it. There are no allergies, no mosquitoes, no getting baked in the heat, no human invasion of the lakes and most importantly NO SNOW ! Our condolences to the Panhandle folks but most of Texas goes snow free during winter which is a great things especially after what happened in Feb 2021. Speaking of February, that's pretty much the coldest month of the year. Don't trust anyone who says otherwise. What you get in December and January is called Fools Winter that just like Schrödinger's cat are flavors of summer, fall, winter and spring in coexistence.
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