MARCH!

New month . . . new expectations . . . .

On March 20th, we'll celebrate the first day of spring, 2018. A one-time thing--there won't be another first day of spring this year. Make the most of it.

Before that, though, we live with all the old sayings:

If March comes in like a lion, it'll go out like a lamb.

Or, if March comes in like a lamb . . . you got it, out like a lion.

In my neck of the woods, there's a little of both--the lion roaring around, trees swaying, rain pelting down, temp dropping. Then the little lamb gambols across the landscape bringing sunshine, a soft breeze, the illusion of a warm spring day. What's up with that?

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This year, March is the last gasp of Lent--Easter Sunday is April 1st. And if the weather doesn't show up dressed in sunshine and fluffy clouds--if we get a freezing rain before the sunrise service (happened to us about 40 years ago here in my neighborhood)--well, that's what we get that day. It'll still be Easter Sunday.

In Anne Hillerman's book Rock with Wings, police officer Jim Chee reflects on weather:

He never minded summer, even at its peak. What was the point of calling anything in nature “bad”? Weather was weather, hot was hot, cold was cold. He didn’t see the need to attach judgment.

But Chee is a native of the desert Southwest, and he's a traditional Navajo, which means he's close to nature, and the above attitude is just right for his character.

I won't say I'll be nonchalant about the weather on Easter Sunday. If it's a cold, rainy day, I'll feel cold, and I'll wear a raincoat and hope my fingers don't freeze while I drive to church.

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What do you look forward to in March? Gardening? Working outside? Building a gazebo? Taking the dog for longer walks? Not shoveling snow? 

We had an almost-spring day or two this week. My job was to clear the fallen limbs, branches, and sticks that wind had torn from my four big old trees. There's a good-sized pile at the curb for the City trucks to pick up later on. And the trash bin is filling up nicely with the small stuff--it's naturally biodegradable so it's okay for the landfill.

When we get a warmish day without wind, my patio will get some attention--last year's leaves got tangled up in some of the bushes nearby, so that'll require a rake and a bushel basket for hauling debris to the bin out front. Best of all, I may get to see some buds on flowering bushes. If not, I'll keep checking.

Last night, my Ohio daughter told me her daffodils and tulips are already about three inches out of the ground. Go Spring!

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March is a month that wears many hats--a sunbonnet for the bright days--a poplin rainhat for the precursor to April showers--a tied-on scarf to keep hair out of our eyes when we walk or run on the snow-free walks and streets.

It's a month of green beer and wild weather, sunshine and rain. Whatever--celebrate March!