The irises don't know its still winter

My grandma has said that if it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain for 7 Sundays thereafter. Well yesterday was Easter, and at one point I looked out the window and saw snow flurries. Yes, it snowed on Easter Sunday. I do not know what this means exactly, but I am dreading the next 7 Sundays.

Last week was spring break, but it certainly didn’t feel like spring. This winter has been the longest winter I can remember. I’ve been cold since October. At first it was kind of a novelty, to feel cold again after a year of living practically on the equator. I remained cheerful until about January, but here we are at the end of March and I am well past the point of what I can endure. It feels like ice is running through my veins and I wonder if I will ever thaw.

My grandma wrote me a letter last week and asked if the iris bulbs I planted last fall were coming up yet. The thing is, they are. There are little bulbs sprouting all over the neighborhood, and I look at them with consternation, worrying that the poor things will freeze before spring ever arrives. Didn’t anybody tell the irises its still winter?

I am wondering if anybody knows any old farmer’s tales of what the signs of a long winter are. I’ve read that when spiders spin larger than normal webs or when wooly worms have a certain coloration pattern, these are indicators that a long winter is ahead. But Urbana spiders seem puny to me after a year in the jungle, and I don’t remember what the wooly worms looked like last fall. If anyone else knows what any of the signs of an impending long winter are (grandma probably knows a few), please send them my way. I’d like to be prepared for the next one.

There’s still a chance for me to get a good night’s sleep, so I’m going to try my best to get some rest. Thanks for reading.