It’s March! Even though the ground is still hidden by strata of snow and boys are still playing hockey on the river, I consider today the first unofficial day of Spring.
Many people say that March is the snowiest of months. Fellow Minnesotan Garrison Keillor has said that God designed the month of March to show people who don’t drink what a hangover feels like. I’ve never experienced a hangover, but I have survived 32 Midwestern Marches. (I personally think February is drearier. How is it that the shortest month of the year often feels like the longest?)
Regardless of what anyone says, when I flip the calendar to March, I am filled with hopeful expectation. Minnesota winters are lovely and magical, but they are also cold and dark. There can be stretches of days when the mercury doesn’t rise above 0°F. The sunlight is so weak that Vitamin D supplements are almost a necessity, at least for those of us who suffer from a touch of the winter blues. But seeing March on the calendar reminds me of the miracle about to take place: the yearly eucatastrophe called spring.
And it’s fitting that this is the time of year that we celebrate the Greatest Eucatastrophe of all, which, incidentally, takes place on the final day of March this year.
I’m hoping to take a photo each day this month to document the transformation. (Although I make no promises regarding the daily nature of my documentation.)
Here’s hoping the magnolias are in bloom by the month’s end!
March 1st: Hockey on the Straight River
Cheery Hill 