So it snowed.

Yep, woke up Saturday, May 9, to snow on the ground.

It was the coldest May 9 in New York City since 1891. That far back there was only one borough in the city; the Brooklyn Bridge was only eight years old; the Statue of Liberty had been in place for only five years.

My neighbor had opened his pool on Friday, which my wife found hilarious. Less so the fact that the weather flat-out killed the blooms on our rhododendrons. They were on their way out, but still. They'd had a spectacular spring, and it was sad to see it come to an end by lunchtime Saturday.

By that time every flake had melted. But the fact that we had snow, and enough to stick, more than a week into May made it a headline event. You might expect that to happen in Canada, or even in colder and snowier spots in New York like Buffalo, but this was a first for me and the lovely Mrs. Key. I had to pull my woolly cap and scarf back out of storage. One of the kids on the block had left a Wham-O Snowboogie out on the lawn, which looked a little silly by the afternoon.

It did inspire your musical friend here with a song:

There's no boogie like Snowboogie
Like no boogie I know
Everything about it is astoundin'
Not the type that comes out of your nose
It'll take you down the side of mountains
And leave you countin'
Fingers and toes....

There's no people like snow people; they smile when they are froze.

The robins have built a nest in the back deck again, and every time I go back there, with or without the dogs, Mrs. Robin flies off and peeps angrily at us from a tree. Yesterday I told her to get her butt back on the eggs before they froze, but she didn't listen. Robins only listen to Batman.

The dogs had fun, of course, being very hairy canines and inclined to enjoy cold-weather sports. I was even able to frolic with junior varsity dog Nipper in the backyard, throwing snowballs for him to catch, or try to. It did, however, result in the meme below:

I'm telling you, man -- this stuff ain't normal.