Posts Tagged ‘March’
Not March
This is not the weather I recognize as occurring in the month of March in the region where I am from. That’s no surprise, since we are breaking records for both highest overnight low temperature, as well as the daytime high for March 8th.
Our back yard looked almost summery in the afternoon sun.
No snow in sight. It felt unnatural. Thinking back just a few years, I was trying to carve drainage paths through the mounds of packed snow on the sides of our driveway in March, for water to drain away.
No such problem this year.
Just to keep us from getting too far ahead of ourselves, the landscape pond is available to remind us that spring doesn’t happen instantaneously, even when it seems like that is exactly what it is doing. There is a solid mass of ice filling the pond still.
Something tells me it won’t last much longer.
When I was a kid, the saying was, “April showers bring May flowers.” I wonder what the March showers will bring in this new climate reality.
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Hello March
Longer days of March are here again. Unfortunately, so is the dreaded hour shift of the clock that is Daylight Saving Time. It’s a stupid name. It doesn’t save a single morsel of time. A week from today we will be changing clocks in our location. Others might do it a different day, or may not do it at all. I would prefer we don’t change our clocks twice a year, but I don’t have much say in the decision.
The month of March also brings hockey and basketball tournaments, which I think are a delight. Historically, our high school basketball tournaments tend to coincide with some significant snowfall events, which adds an element of drama. Spring snow storms can be demoralizing for those who have been lulled into thinking we are done with such weather since warmer temperatures have returned.
This year, Cyndie and I have the added excitement of a getting away at the end of this month to spend a week with our dear friends, the Morales family in Guatemala. Not that we needed it, but Dunia sweetly provided a picture taken at their beach house yesterday, to help us mentally prepare for what is in store. I will provide a picture of our place for added perspective…
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I don’t think anything more needs be said about our motivation.
…But that never stopped me before.
As great as it will be to have new adventures in another place I have never been before, especially one that is free of any forecasts for snow storms, it is not the warm sunshine that I am feeling thrilled about enjoying. The ultimate treasure that I’m looking forward to is being able to see the faces and hear the voices and embrace the auras of Dunia and Marco, and their boys, Marco and Jose again.
I am overjoyed with the prospect of seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter as we once again share in the joys of discovering the wonder in everything that life holds for each of us. In the brief time since Cyndie and Dunia first met, we have grown connected like family. Being together with them is the prize I find myself relishing.
The sights and sounds of the warmer climate where they will be hosting us is secondary.
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Marching Ahead
We’ve made it to the month of March, always a milestone in our northern winters. The other day I noticed that the hour of our sunset has reached 6:00 p.m. That’s a big difference from that shortest day of sunlight in December, when darkness descends way too early in the afternoon. Winter’s days are numbered now, but we know too well from our experience just a year ago, storms with significant amounts of snow can still happen as late as May around here.
With March historically bringing storms carrying large snowfall totals, we try not to get overly excited by the warm sunlight and daytime melting that is about to occur. However, I think this year it will be especially welcome. There have been precious few days above freezing the last few months, which is great for winter sports, but it has me a little anxious about what the melt will be like for us come spring.
Last year the wetness took forever to end. I can’t find any reason to believe it will be any better this year. I had hoped to strategically pile the plowed snow to minimize melt water running where we don’t want it to go, but the amount of snow that has accumulated forced the necessity of piling it anywhere and everywhere.
For now, we still need to keep clearing our way to the wood shed and to Delilah’s kennel. I finally got the path to the wood shed shoveled on Saturday, over a week after the last big storm buried everything here under the rain and then 12 inches of snow.
In March, you never really know if the effort to clear such routes is still necessary, but if you don’t do it, and another large amount of snow falls, it ends up being a real hassle. Better safe, than sorry, I believe.
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Relative Something 