I must be dreaming.

It can't be the end of 2014.

I feel as though I just transcribed my "Bud's View" Journal notes of 2013 Lehigh Valley observations a few months ago. Yet the calendar proves that 12 months have come and gone.

January: January 2014 was cold, providing great local skiing conditions. The ski areas produced man-made snow to aid the continual natural snowfalls. Pregnant female black bears gave birth to their cubs in mid-month. Ice fishermen rejoiced with thick safe ice. The month produced 16.5 inches of snow with a low of minus-four degrees and a high of 61 degrees.

February: The Keystone State's famous furry prognosticator, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow Feb. 2 on Gobblers' Knob and predicted six more weeks of winter. Unlike in 2013, his prediction was right on target. Winter conditions continued through the month, despite the typical rollercoaster ride of high and low temperatures. Snowfall totaled 36.5 inches.

March: March had typically cold blustery weather. Although the Lehigh Valley missed the record for winter snowfall by six inches, I'm sure my driveway beat the all-time record with ease. Winter 2013-'14 ranks third as the Lehigh Valley's worst winter. According to my journal, the first day of spring was a cold wintery windy day. It was certainly not spring-like.

Our narcissus bulbs started to push their fragile leaves through the thawing ground and fallen leaf litter toward the end of the month, but struggled to grow. Continued cold weather kept spring from springing forth. March snowfall was 1.1 inches.

April: A higher sun, longer days and warmer temps triggered our first narcissus blooms April 9. The neighbors' magnolias burst into bloom April 14, but a brief return of cold winds and subfreezing temperatures tarnished their distinctive beauty. The final snowfall, according to my notes, fell April 14 when .3 inches fell and continued into income tax day morn. Our weeping cherry tree and violets started blooming April 16.

We observed the last junco April 28. The flock had arrived the afternoon of Nov. 2. There were more windy days during April than in March. One red tulip opened its petals April 30, bidding goodbye to the month whose showers bring May flowers. Precipitation was 6.6 inches.

May: The serviceberry bushes (shadbush) bloomed May 1. A male indigo bunting adorned our hanging seed feeder with his deep blue color May 2. The warming May 3 sun welcomed the return of the bunting, several goldfinches, a bright crimson male cardinal and two rose-breasted grosbeaks. The hanging feeder was alive with the beautiful colors of migrating songbirds.

Later that morning, Bev observed a red-headed woodpecker. To our knowledge, no red-headed woodpecker had visited our yard before. Bev added it to her Audubon bird book. The day continued to be a fantastic day for songbird observations as several white-crowned sparrows, a male redstart, a black and white warbler, several other species of woodpeckers and a yellow-winged warbler stopped to feed. A male ruby-throated hummingbird also stopped by looking for our nectar feeder.

Bev quickly brewed a batch of sugar-nectar and I hung the feeder. Before long, the hummer was back sipping the sweet brew. The red-headed woodpecker spent several days pecking away on the trunk of a red oak. A total of 4.27 inches of rain helped our young garden plants to begin growing.

June: June was a good month unless you worship the sun. The day lilies, mountain laurel, rhododendrons and many other flowering plants bloomed later than normal because of lower than average temps. Two days were above 90 degrees while eight days had comfortable high temperatures in the 70s. The thermometer dipped to a low of 49 degrees June 15. Rainfall was 5.4 inches.

July: The temperature reached 94 degrees July 2, but tumbled to 74 degrees and breezy for local Fourth of July picnics and fireworks. We wore coats while young children snuggled under blankets to watch the fireworks display. The month ended with five days of highs in the 90s, five days with highs in the 70s and seven days with lows in the 50s. The 4.3 inches of rain watered the garden and kept the lawns from turning brown.

August: There were no Dog Days of Summer in 2014. August had seven days with highs in the 70s and 12 days with lows in the 50s. The temps never threatened the 90-degree mark. I loved the weather. Our house does not have air conditioning. Shade from the many mature trees keeps the house relatively comfortable. August precipitation was 1.97 inches.

September: Labor Day topped out at 88 degrees, but the low humidity provided a very comfortable holiday. The monthly precipitation was zero until Sept. 6 when .66 inches fell. As usual, I grumbled about falling leaves and what I could have been doing if I were not gathering them. I must admit, however, that fall produced a fantastic array of beautiful colors.

October: We spent 10 great days touring with our friends from Oregon, the Wilsons. The tour schedule included local areas of interest, Philadelphia's Old City and port, Annapolis, Md., including a schooner sailing venture and a striped bass fishing outing on the Chesapeake Bay. We ended our tour with several days in Lancaster County.

Although my journal has no entries for this time period, the leaves continued to fall and accumulate during our October travels. Unlike the summer months, the fall months produced much less precipitation.

Do you know that trees follow a timetable? Our trees release their seasonal grasps in a special order, beginning with the black walnuts. The dogwoods, white ashes and tulips follow the walnuts. Then the six species of oaks take turns releasing their leaves.

They are followed by leaves from the sassafras, red maples, wild cherry, weeping cherry and the large Norway maple at the north end of the backyard. Its flexible yellow leaves are among the last to fall. The Japanese maple ends the process, giving up its seasonal grip around Thanksgiving Day.

Then practically without any fanfare, my colorful nightmares disappear. No need for an autumn gym membership for me. In my future life I plan to live on a property full of evergreens.

Our varied oak species produced very few acorns this year. If this holds true in other areas, the lack of these mast crops will affect deer and turkeys as well as other wildlife that rely on acorns for winter food.

November: Juncos returned Nov. 1. The last observed hummer visited Nov. 3, probably a procrastinator picking up some calories before making the more than 500-mile journey to Central and South America.

My journal's first snow entry noted a wintery mix Nov. 16. A very wet snow arrived, covering the northern sections of the Lehigh Valley Thanksgiving Eve, making travel difficult and dampening the spirits of many holiday celebrants. Precipitation was 3.12 inches, which included 5.7 inches of snow.

December: The Farmer's Almanac predicts another teeth-chattering winter for the United States. "Think of it as a refriger-nation," stated Almanac editor Janet Stillman.

You will be OK if you are like Bev and me and enjoy outdoor winter sports. If you prefer the indoors, bundle up, buy plenty of bread and milk, stack an ample supply of firewood within arm's reach and hibernate until Punxsutawney Phil sticks his head up.

That's it for 2014! Have a great holiday season and a Happy New Year.

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