Feels like 36 degrees and sunny

There's a weather station here. Somewhere. (Orin O'Neill photos)

Have you noticed that most of the continental U.S. seems to have skipped winter? Except for the Pacific Northwest, of course. In fact, it snowed Sunday.

The snow flurries alternated with bright sunshine throughout the afternoon. And it was really cold overnight. Today, the sun shone brightly.

Brightly enough to cause the GTS’ ambient temp readout to say 46°F. It sits directly in the sun, as does the Fourth Estate (its interior was almost warm enough to grow tomatoes). Somehow, I don’t think the GTS would reflect such optimism if it weren’t painted black.

The credit union said it was 40, and the bank said 42. It felt much colder when I opened the helmet’s eyeshield. A fleece pullover, thick hoody and fleece-lined jacket kept the cold at bay, as did the snowboarding gloves.

I went across town to get lunch at the Jack in the Box. They offer a (surprisingly large) fish sandwich with fries and a drink for $2.99. Not bad, actually. Unlike the BACON milkshake they’re offering at the moment.

Never mind the bacon meme that’s been going around forever, this totally jumps the shark. It tastes more like a dirty ashtray than bacon, though it is made with real ice cream.

Jack in the Box is located at the corner of Northwest Avenue and Bakerview Road. The picture shows why the latter street is so named, though the impossibly wide-angle lens fitted to an iPhone doesn’t show just how large it actually looms.

I’d decided to swing by the airport on the way home, just because it was sunny. The road ends at Marine Drive, the waters of Bellingham Bay a deep blue to match the nearly cloudless sky.

Back in town, demolition work on the old Georgia-Pacific mill on the waterfront is proceeding apace now that the adjacent hazmat site is getting cleaned up. Nobody knows what kind of redevelopment might take place, but a daffy plan to create an urban village with highrise condos seems to have been abandoned.

I decide to go really Fourth Dimensional, through Fairhaven and east on Old Fairhaven Parkway. The pavement is nice and clean, but that’s probably because the city of Bellingham actually groks the concept of street cleaning, and owns equipment to do so.

Places that spend all day in the shade this time of year still have traces of Sunday’s snow. The overnight low will once again be at or near freezing. Is it spring yet?