Sigh. The number of jokes about Midwesterners and their talk of the weather, right? You’ve probably heard that Oscar Wilde once said, “Talking about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Well, I beg to differ. If you live in the midwestern US, the weather fascinating, and it’s something we all have in common. I have lived in the midwest for most of my life, and I am still boggled by the warm/cold whiplash that characterizes the shoulder seasons. The shock of a snowstorm in May?! The thrill of the late-fall “second summer” (does anyone really call it a pastrami summer?)?!

Weather has always been enormously important to Michiganders, so let’s just lean into that! The beliefs, stories, and traditions of Native inhabitants of southeast Michigan are closely aligned with the weather and the seasons. (Find out more about the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes region.) It’s well established that Native Americans helped the first bedraggled European settlers navigate the challenges of this land, and that certainly included the weather-related challenges - from tornadoes to harsh winters to humid summers. The Farmers Almanac was first published in 1792, during George Washington’s first presidential term. While it doesn’t specifically thank Native Americans for their contributions, it relied heavily on Native knowledge and traditions regarding the weather. To this day, the Old Farmers Almanac (its name has changed, so as not to be confused with a rival almanac published in ) includes reams of information on Native language, traditions, and culture - often with an eye to the weather. If you haven’t looked at a Farmers Almanac recently, we can’t recommend it strongly enough! It is hugely entertaining, highly educational, and eerily accurate in its weather predictions! (Fun fact: In 1950, however, Senator Robert S. Kerr (D-OK) sent letters out to Native American leaders across the country to ask them for weather predictions for the coming winter. This was long after the establishment of the US Weather Bureau - now the National Weather Service.)

Now that we are feeling the first tender moments of spring, and our tiny green things are beginning to peek out from their mulch-y resting places, we at The Newton are getting excited! The historic Newton of Ypsilanti is lovely and cozy in the winter, but its gardens, porches, and courtyard really come alive with the warm weather! We can’t wait to plant our veggie garden and to use those veggies in our cooking! We’re planning a fantastic Mother’s Day event in our courtyard, with food prepared by the inimitable Beara Bakes, mini-photo shoots by Lola Grace Photography, and Yours Truly Events will be in charge of flowers and decor! We’ll soon be hosting festive courtyard community events - the first one will be part of Ypsilanti’s First Fridays kickoff on April 5! Check our events and tickets page for more information! Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram to find out about events as we schedule them.