Oklahoma has four distinct seasons, but unlike many places, the four seasons can all come in one day. It's possible to have a chilly morning, a hot midday, a cozy afternoon and an evening with storms capable of producing tornados.

Having lived here for five years, I have grown accustomed to the capriciousness of the elements, but what are the plants and animals supposed to think. Are frogs posting on social media sites for frogs that groundhogs, which are supposed to predict the arrival of spring, are lousy weathermen. Flowers in my yard often start to bud in spring on a warm day, but freeze and wither before they have a chance to bloom. This year has been rather congenial, as we have had quite a number of consistently warm days, which allowed the flowers to fully bloom.

However, I had been living in uneasy anticipation, like a tenant waiting for the thud of the second shoe after the first one, dropped on the floor in the middle of the night, has woken him up. Sure enough, we soon had a hail storm that turned trees, shrubs and lawns into a stunning crystal landscape you would only expect to find in a fairy tale. When I went out for a walk I found that many trees and branches had been brought down by the weight of the ice. Returning home I happened to find a few readers commented on my blog about the pressure of living in some of China's biggest cities.