Local Guest Column: Mother Nature Doesn’t Care What Year It Is

Fall scene at the Stewart household. (photo: Sarah Stewart)

Editor's Note: We are welcoming a new guest columnist to the Edmonson Voice, Mrs. Meredith Stewart. She will be writing columns on a range of subjects and we welcome her addition to our publication. 

By Meredith Stewart:
The year 2020 has been chock-full of unusual, often scary, events. Like many others, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve thought, “surely things can’t get any weirder” only to find myself proven wrong in a matter of weeks, if not days. In all fairness, though, there have been plenty of wonderful occurrences this year, too; not least of which was more time spent outdoors. For example, my family hunkered down during the pandemic this summer and began planting and tending our first vegetable garden.

Then there’s been this fall. In my opinion, this has been one of the most beautiful falls we’ve had here in Edmonson County in decades. Maybe there have been prettier ones, and perhaps my family was just too caught up in our busy, always-on-the-go lifestyle to take time to truly stop and appreciate the beauty of falls past. Nonetheless, this year it seemed that Mother Nature really dressed up and put on a show for us. 

Still, this beautiful fall coupled with the uncertainty of 2020 got me wondering about stories from years past and some of the stranger weather-related or nature events that have occurred locally. For instance, my dad recalled that in April of 1983, parts of Edmonson County and the surrounding area received up to three inches of snow that Easter. Another local I spoke with mentioned a wolf sighting in Mammoth Cave National Park several years ago. Yet another local, a farmer, recalled that several years ago they looked out to see their livestock acting strangely. Before long, the strange behavior of their animals became apparent when a thundersnow storm occurred.

So while 2020, with its super-sized alligator appearances down in Florida and its escaped tiger down in Tennessee, wins first place for most unusual happenings in a single year, to be honest, Mother Nature has always had plenty of surprises and tricks up her sleeve. 

As my Mamaw Effie used to say, “time and tide wait for no man.” So I don’t know about y’all, but while I have good health - and the weather is still nice - I think I will get out and enjoy nature as often as I can! 

Meredith has strong family ties to Edmonson County and she and her family live in the Smiths Grove area. They belong to and faithfully attend church at Pleasant Union Baptist Church (Steep Hollow). When she's not writing, she enjoys embarrassing her kids by breaking out in random song and dance moves in various stores throughout our community. Someday she hopes to check surfing and learning to play the mandolin off her bucket list. You can email her at [email protected].