It Must Be March

Friday Morning, the 2nd of March.

The month of March is justly associated with insanity. There’s “March Madness” in the world of basketball. And there are the  more ancient references to being “mad as a March hare.” In March I get a little crazy too. With February finally gone, the days growing noticeably longer, and the official first day of spring looming on the calendar, I gladly welcome March. Emily Dickinson did too. She wrote a poem that starts –

Dear March - Come in -
How glad I am -
I hoped for you before -

The thing about March that makes me crazy is that it never turns out the way I want. After all these years you’d think I’d at last accept the fact that March is still winter here in Potter County, but I just can’t do it. Every year I say to myself, “Maybe this year it will be different.” It never is. It always snows and brings us bitter cold winds. And probably a blizzard or two. And yet, once again, I find myself hoping that this year it will turn out the way that I imagined. That, come the twenty-first of March, a warm wind will blow in from the southwest, the ground will soften, the grass will rise, the trees will bud, and all the flowers of spring will bloom. I know, I’m crazy. Mad as a March hare.

True to form, the last days of February were mild and then March introduced itself with a winter storm. While the weather was still good, we got some work done outdoors. On Monday we had a load of firewood delivered. Our wood supply was pretty low and there are still plenty of cold days ahead. The delivery man dumped the wood in the driveway. On Tuesday we stacked it. In years past it has taken us weeks to get a load of wood stacked. This time I had help. Miriam, Asa, Enoch, and I worked together and got it done in just a few hours. There’s enough wood there to get us through the rest of this winter and spring and most of next winter too.

The wood delivery on Monday.

The woodpile on Tuesday.

On Thursday, the first of March, the weather changed dramatically. That afternoon a cold rain started to fall that quickly turned to snow. By Friday morning there was eight inches of wet, heavy snow plastered on everything. School was canceled (there goes another day of our Easter break clipped off as a makeup day). The snow was disgusting and beautiful. I went out to take pictures, cringing the whole time I was amazed. That’s March – fickle and exasperating and sometimes lovely. To the north and east of us they really got hit hard with fallen trees and downed power lines. Some places still don’t have electricity. I’m glad we escaped all that.

Friday morning.

The garden on Friday morning.

 Last week was a good week for bird watching. Last Sunday afternoon we took a drive to visit some local ponds and lakes. We drove down to Galeton where we saw American Black Ducks, a Gadwall, Common Mergansers, and Canada Geese on the lake there. From there we drove to Lyman Lake where we saw Wood Ducks on Lyman Run. We decided to take a “shortcut” from Lyman Lake over the mountain via Rock Run Road. It was a pretty, but scary, drive. Parts of the road were deeply rutted mud. Other parts on the wooded north-facing slope were a sheet of ice. We made it okay, but I won’t go that way again until summer. From there we drove to the Rigas pond where we saw more Common Mergansers, Canada Geese, and a Redhead. By then it was getting late and the light was fading. We arrived home in time to see the sunset.

American Black Ducks near Galeton.

Wood Ducks on Lyman Run.

A cascade on Rock Run Road.

Asa and Enoch at the overlook on Rock Run Road.

Sunset last Sunday.

Later in the week Miriam and the boys reported seeing a bald eagle at the Rigas pond. I took my camera when I went on Wednesday to pick Stacey up from work and got some good photos of it.

The bald eagle at Rigas's pond.

The eagle.

The eagle.

On Saturday Asa and Enoch left to return home. They were here for three weeks and it was great having them here. They are fun boys to have around. They are good workers and helped Miriam a lot with her project at work and me with projects at home. Asa just returned in February from serving a mission in Ogden, Utah. Enoch is getting ready to submit his papers to serve a mission. Stacey helped him get some of his requirements done while he was here – a physical, a dental check-up, filling out forms, etc. We are excited to see where he will serve. We took them up to the Rochester Airport to catch a 5:00 p.m. flight, but left early so we could take them to the Church history sites in Palmyra. The house seems too quiet with the boys gone. We miss them.

Asa and Enoch at the Smith Cabin in Palmyra.

The Smith Farm in Palmyra.

Enoch at the Grandin Press, Palmyra.

Good-bye to the Shillig boys.

Today it is bright and sunny, but still cold. The sun shining on all that snow is dazzling. I wish it would all melt and not come back again. Today is Fast Sunday. We’re home from church. Stacey is making something for lunch that involves bacon. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been fasting and I’m hungry or what, but the aroma of that bacon is about the most delicious thing I think I’ve ever smelled. I hope the food is ready soon. I’m sitting here salivating. I just glanced at the weather forecast for the week. It looks like it will be cold and snowy most of the time. But at least we’re not expecting a blizzard like parts of the Midwest. But then, it is March and a blizzard would not surprise me.