If you ask any member of my family what I think about the month of March, they would say something along the lines that they don't speak that way to polite company. March is the most frustrating of months. It has weather extremes and I know that I am anthropromorhizing, but I swear this blasted month has mood swings too!
March is such tease...the sun feels warm through the windows and then you go outside...wham!!! The wind cuts through your sweater and of course you forget your hat and gloves...brr.
March is a dirty month too. As the snow melts, the sand and detritius of winter soil the snow banks and clog the gutters. Sadly, people are content to ignore that stuff, making it seem all the more offensive and depressing.
The departing snow reveals broken branches and ruts where car tires spun over your lawn. Then there is the mud. Blech. Poor Reilly takes a walk and comes back a dog of a different color...mud brown.
To add insult to injury, I live in a part of town that has its own micro-climate. Up here on the hill, snow hangs around longer than the rest of town. Despite the warmer days, we still have 3 feet of snow on the lawn and there are a few snow banks still flirting with four feet along the sides of the driveway. I am so envious of friends who are posting pictures of crocuses and snowdrops popping up along the foundations of their homes. The good news is, my deck which just a few weeks ago was blanketed by 55 inches of snow, now has a small 3'x5'x1' island on the shaded side. That patch is toast tomorrow. I don't know if I'll tempt fate and or Mother Nature, but I may put a couple of deck chairs out there too...someplace to sit, bundled up under blankets while sipping some tea. I think its a plan!
Never fear though, to get back at the month of March, I get dirty. I ordered my seed starters and in a few days, I'll have pots and pots of vegetables seeded, working and waiting for the day we'll transplant them at the end of May. I have been in the garage scrubbing and oiling my garden tools. Next week I'll sweep out the garage and reorganize my potting shelves. And each night I'll soak my hands to remove the soil. I'll rub in the bag balm to calm and soothe my hands, making them ready for the real dirty work prepping beds in April and May.
I have been mapping out my vegetable gardens on graph paper. I am pouring over flower and plant catalogs, making lists of all the new perennials and annuals that will refresh my tired gardens and window boxes. I am getting jazzed.
So, I am fighting dirt with dirt...and some heartfelt prayers that soft April showers will show up a couple of weeks early to wash away gritty old March. Miss March...not much.
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