Every year is extreme
Bullough's Pond, a former mill pond in now-suburban Newton, Mass.. The pond is a popular place for bird watching and ice skating. In the 19th Century, before man-made refrigeration, and when winters were colder than now, it was the site of a commercial ice business. In 18th Century New England many ponds were created by building dams on streams to create reservoirs to power small mills to grind grain.
“There are no ordinary seasons in New England, only years that are unusually rainy, or abnormally hot, or remarkably cold.’’
Historian Diana Muir, in her book Reflections in Bullough’s Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England