Welcome, March

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat -

You must have walked -

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have so much to tell!

I got your letter, and the birds' -

The maples never knew

That you were coming - I declare,

How red their faces grew!

But, March, forgive me -

And all those hills -

You left for me to hue -

There was no purple suitable,

You took it all with you.

Who knocks? That April!

Lock the door!

I will not be pursued!

He stayed away a year, to call

When I am occupied.

But trifles look so trivial

As soon as you have come,

That blame is just as dear as praise

And praise as mere as blame.

~Emily Dickinson

February has come and gone for another year, and even if it weren't for the promise of spring's arrival, I would not be sad to say good-bye to the shortest month of the year. They say that March typically comes in like a lion, but we heard its roar beforehand with the advent of a destructive rainstorm complete with hurricane force winds. Trees were uprooted and thrown about like children's playthings, rooftops were torn off, roads flooded, and thousands of homes were left powerless for days.

We are still pumping water out of our basement, the result of a failing sump pump when the electricity went out. This isn't the first time, and thankfully we were able to borrow a generator to get the lights going again, but it lasted for four days. The roof experienced some damage as well, leaking through the attic into the hallway ceiling upstairs. I'm afraid we may have additional problems as the dampness is slow to recede. We have a dehumidifier in the cellar but it's really not enough.

Today we had temperatures in the 50's. Blue skies, sunshine, melting snow. Time to force some branches of forsythia, methinks. No robins in sight yet, but for several days after the storm we were treated to a huge flock of goldfinches at our seed feeders along with several male and female bluebirds who enjoyed the block of suet. To say that I am looking forward to spring is an understatement!