H said:
L All I can seem to do as of late is listen to Jimmy Buffet, and other similar artists while dinking a beer or rum, and wishing I were in Mexico, Guatamala or somewhere (and the crazy part is that I am seriously thinking of going).
Day before yesterday, it was 70 outside (21 degrees, for those livng in civilized parts of the world).
Yesterday afternoon, I drove home from work in the
snow.
Now, I'm looking outside my office window,. The skies are sunny, leaves are budding on the trees, and flowering crabtrees (for those south of the Equator, they look like jacarandas) are in full bloom. The temperature? 32, or as they say on the weather forecast of television stations with call letters beginning with the letter C, "zeru deegrees, eh?"
The place might be called "Cleveland," but the weather here is definitely that of Buffalo.
JNL said:
But I do get to look at pretty Autumn colours
I wonder what would happen here if I took North American nursery stock, and planted them in an area of New Zealand or Australia with a similar climate. Would the trees die? Would you see fall foiliage prematurely? Would the tree experience the flora equivalent of jet lag?
JNL ... one thing to consider when you prepare for your trip here is allergies. North America has the highest incidence of allergies in the world, because it's so heavily vegetated and/or cultivated.
Big trees are everywhere, even in some desert areas. Some over-the-counter products, like Claritin, are pretty good, but see if you can get a doctor to write you a prescription for Zyrtec, or whatever its might be called in your part of the world, just in case. It's the only pill that has enabled me to breathe almost perfectly during prime allergy seasons.