MARCH LAMENT

An Ode to Spring

Where did March go? I checked the old memos penciled on my calendar and discovered March was a very busy month, but I missed most of it. We moved our clocks forward to accommodate those who believe humans can control the amount of sunlight we receive, then we passed the Ides of March without anything happening of note, and we all were Irish for a day in honor of Saint Patrick. All in the same week! I’m either getting too old to notice these things, or I was too busy being excited about the NCAA tournament. March madness can make me forget most anything else, especially when the Zags are in the mix. But my Irish grandfather would be disappointed I didn’t have a single green beer.

My calendar tells me the first official day of Spring was during the week following St Patrick’s Day; two full days before Ramadan. I see the season change printed on my calendar, but I didn’t notice it outside my window. I wonder why I missed it. In years past, it has been my custom to plant potatoes between Saint Patrick’s Day and the Spring equinox, but it would not have been possible this year, as my garden was too frozen to plow and covered with a foot of snow. Is my memory failing me, or is spring late this year? I’m sure some ecologist will blame the delayed season change on global warming. Somehow it is blamed for anything that goes wrong from floods to deforestation. I read where the experts said global warming was the cause of the pine bark beetle infestation. Go figure.

But -- my calendar says spring has sprung, so I decided to see if I missed the annual signs that winter was officially over. The swans passed through on their way to their artic breeding grounds just as they have for centuries. I saw a bunch of them on the river during a lull between snow showers. On another rare clear afternoon, I saw the eagles overhead doing their aerial ballet. I would have stopped and watched, but I was trying to stay on the road despite the buildup of snow and ice. During the past few days it has been warm enough to actually melt some snow. The piles along the side of the road are getting smaller and darker. Road grit mixes with the once pristine snow and covers the berms until the snow is gone and only the dirt remains. We observed a similar phenomenon when we lived in North Dakota. All our snow came in December and blew around during January and February mixing with prairie soil. By the first of March, we called it snirt.

As the piles of mixed snow and dirt recede, the the first colorful flowers of spring begin to show themselves in the form of aluminum cans and plastic drinking cups. When the snow is finally gone, we are left with the detritus of civilized society. The ads claim their particular brand has more taste and is less filling. I can’t speak for the contest of taste, but a small survey shows Bud Light fills up the ditches more than any other brand.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over twenty years.