March Weather

For a brief period in late morning, while I was looking out the window in between my exercises, large snowflakes were falling. Gusts of wind blew them here and there, like bits of ash floating off from a campfire. As the wind slowed, the flakes fell slowly to the ground and melted on impact. The ground is wet again, after heavy rain yesterday -- more than 2 inches.

Last week the sun shown bright and warm for a few days; almost to 70 degrees one day. By Sunday, clouds, rain, snow, and cold returned. This is March.

The months of November and March are similar. A light snow falls, covering woodland flowers and fallen leaves. Hardwood trees are mostly bare. The sky and woods are often gray. But the mood is different. The beech leaves that hung on through late fall and winter, have now mostly fallen. The trees and flowers are readying for the burst of spring growth. A March snowfall is just the last of winter letting go.

Hepatica, Williams Woods, Charlotte, Vermont

March 21, 2010

Now, just past noon, it is already looking brighter, more spring-like. The sun is peering through the thinning clouds. A speck of blue is visible here and there. The warmer winds of March are blowing.