Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. I was just bragging about my gardens' streak of continuous bloom. That's over. For the first since 2004 nothing bloomed in February at our community plot. Sobering.

This was one of the coldest Februarys on record in Chicago. Temps averaged almost 10 degrees lower than usual. The frigid temps froze the ground and water deeply.

February started in the negatives and we never really had enough hours above freezing to allow the witch hazels to unfurl. With all the snow, sleet, and ice nothing on the ground level had a chance. Snowdrops and winter aconite were put on hold. Even the silver maples in the city's parkways kept their buds closed tight.

It is hard to believe that after 40s in mid January with all sorts of plants budding up, that nothing would bloom for over 7 weeks. What a drastic shift. A power play by Mother Nature to show who is in charge.

Some people have mistaken the recent cold weather for a shift to a cooler climate. Wrong!

Weather is day to day atmospheric activity

Climate is the long term trend of weather and seasonal patterns.

Cold weather today has nothing to do with long term climate. For instance despite the coldest February in nearly 100 years, for the three months of meteorological winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) Chicago came in just under (0.1 degrees) the long term average. You don't look outside today to judge climate change. You compare the start of the seasons from decades ago to now. You look at bird migration patterns. You examine the movement of invasive pests (plant and animal) into an area. You record changes to natural features, like glaciers, snowpacks, and swamplands. And you talk to the farmers.

My grandfather has been saying spring arrives earlier for almost two decades. He remembers planting in April as a boy. Now he plants in March. When I was a youngin' in Spartanburg we used to have killing frost. Now mosquitoes are present year round. In December you can go outside, shake the evergreens, and watch them slowly scatter.

That type of stuff is an indication of shifting climate. Our recent local cold snap does not indicate a global cooling trend. Unfortunately for me, it was rough enough to end this Chicagoans continuous blooming streak.