March Cold

A clear brisk early March day. The temperature, in the upper 20s, just a little under the average for the day. The wind solidly out of the west. As I entered the woods I could hear crows, a lot of crows. At one spot at least twenty were perched in the treetops overhead. There was little doubt they were up to something.

Underfoot, hard surfaces of snow and ice alternated with stretches of mud and softening dirt. The sun was beginning to melt the frost in the earth. March cold isn't like the cold that stings our soul in January. It's no longer sustainable. It's temporary. The warming that leads to spring has begun.

Flowers on the maple trees have begun to open despite the freezing temperatures. Sap has begun to rise and run. Tiny spears of green have begun to ascend through the dark.

Posted on March 3, 2017 05:12 AM by scottking