Zone maps - don't get me started! The USDA and Canadian Zone numbers don't match up, and anywhere around the Great Lakes the climate zones are messed up by "heat" stored in the water, not to mention lake-effect snow. I'm far enough inland that I don't get the benefit of the "warm" lake water, but close enough to get snowed-on. I live at a higher altitude too, which drives my Zone number down. My locality is known as the Hills of the Headwaters, because most of the rivers in south-central Ontario originate around here. The hills are mostly massive glacial moraines left over from various ice ages, but we do also have the Niagara Escarpment (limestone) running roughly north to south through the middle of the area. Speaking of ice ages, we're back into the freezer today. The temperature at dawn was -13C, and is coming up to -10C at midday (I think that translates to 8F and 14F). However, there is another sign of spring: the water coming out of my well has turned brown. Must go and change the water filter.
