After a long, cold winter, we look forward to March, the first calender month of spring. Yet, the spring equinox is still three weeks away and, for most of us in the Midwest, there's plenty of cold, blustery weather ahead. Last night's thunderstorms have given way to a raw, cloudy day with brisk, northwest winds; hardly spring-like conditions.
Such is March in the American Midwest. Bridging winter and spring, it is a month of cold rain, wet snow and sloppy landscapes. But the days are steadily longer and the thaws outlast the periods of ice and snow. The aroma of moist soil is once again in the air, the lawns are beginning to green and the buds are ready to pop. Snowdrops, aconites, crocuses and hyancinths are bringing color back to the landscape and a chorus of birdsong greets each day. Out in the wild lands, tree frogs are calling, waterfowl are flocking and the fledglings of great horned owls are peering from their nest. Cold though it is, spring is in the air.
