It's always sunny in ... Minnesota?

Every once in a while, Mother Nature goes and pulls a temperature two-step on us

Fresh off an unseasonably cool summer and one of the harshest Octobers weather-wise in recent memory, temperatures decided to go in the other direction in November. In a month normally reserved for winter coats and scarves, temperatures have hovered in the 40's and 50's for most of the month, with a recent stretch of days being in the 'sunny and 50-something' variety. The weather forecast for the rest of the week bodes for much of the same.

It has actually proven to be a little disorienting for me. Today, I actually broke out my rollerblades for possibly the first time ever this late in the year. Yesterday, I came to the startling conclusion while running that I was actually OVER-dressed for a 40-minute jog. I also had a lot more company than I expected, as the Red Jacket trail was crowded with dog-walkers and bikers like it was the middle of August. Heck, if it gets much warmer, I might have to bike over to Hiniker and work on my tan for a bit.

Granted, there are drawbacks to the weather being this nice so late in the year. For one thing, the ice fishing crowd is probably watching their gear collect dust in the corner of their garage, as my co-worker makes light of in his recent blog post. Although the temperatures at night have been cool enough to cause a freeze, it's unlikely any lakes are forming much for ice at this point. I can also see this making Minnesota winters seem all the more brutal once the inevitable days of -15 temperatures start rolling in.

However, being the outdoor enthusiast that I am, I say put the winter hibernation on hold for awhile and enjoy the weather as much as you can. Take the dog for a walk, put some air in the bike tires, break out the hiking boots, dust off the tennis racquet and dig the baseball glove out of the closet. It doesn't matter what you do, just bask in the warm weather while it lasts.

Because knowing Minnesota, it ain't gonna last for long.

P.S.: If the weather immediately becomes Minnesoata-esque after today, you can blame my blog post for jinxing it.