March is usually a headed toward Spring month here in Kentucky. Flowers begin to appear. There are days with a generous dose of warm sunshine to soak into your skin after the winter cold. The normal temperature for a Kentucky day in early March is in the 50s. Sometimes we’re treated to much warmer. And sometimes we’re slammed with much colder as we were last week. Record breaking cold all across the state with the temperature dipping into the minus regions.
We had snow to match the low temperatures, or perhaps the low temperatures to match the snow. Wednesday every bit of the snow we had on the ground melted and it rained. Until it started sleeting and then snowing. And snowing and snowing.
We sometimes have snow in March in Kentucky. But not 16 or 20 inches. That’s January snow. March snow is generally a few flakes blowing in the wind. Flurries one minute, sunshine the next. Or if the snow does fall down and coat the ground, the sun warms it up and melts it away pronto. But not this snow with the minus temperatures. It didn’t care that it’s March and Spring is only two short weeks away. Winter isn’t ready to quit.
But there is good in most everything if you look. And so I’m looking. What good things can we think of for this snow?
1. It was a beautiful snow. Really. Friday morning when I went out at sunrise the trees were sparkling and the cedars were coated in snow just like a Christmas card. The snow on the ground sparkled too. Made me think of those detergents I used to buy to wash baby clothes. Ivory Flakes or Dreft, I think. And sometimes if a little breeze shook some off a tree, the flakes sparkled like diamonds in the air. Beautiful. Really.
2. I got lots of extra exercise walking in the snow over my boot tops. Had to be good for my leg muscles. Had to be.
3. That much snow is filling up the ponds and underground springs. Nourishing the plants and flowers that are waiting under the snow.
4. They say it has to be at least minus five to kill deer ticks. If that’s true, then this winter should thin them and other insects out around here.
5. Kids and wanna be kids got to build snowmen and go sledding and had the fun of a snow day out of school.
6. There was plenty of fresh snow to scoop up for Snow Cream.
7. The trees might not bud out and bloom too early and get killed by the frost. Maybe.
8. Oscar was ready to come inside. If new experiences help our brains, then maybe the same help dogs learn too. He had to figure out all the different ways to walk in the snow from pushing through the powdery stuff to walking on top of a frozen crust, to breaking through the crust with some of his steps back to deep powder again.
9. It gave many people reason to help their neighbors with shoveling and plowing out their roads or donating to homeless shelters.
10. It will make us appreciate the spring sunshine and flowers all that much more for having to wait for it. The flowers are coming. Well watered by the snow.
11. A snowy, cold day is a great time to settle down with a good book and a cup of something warm.
12. It’s a perfect reason to make a cup of hot chocolate.
What good things can you add about the snow?
Comments 2
Both my great-grandfathers and grandfathers always said, "March snow is the poor man's fertiliser" and would often sow seed on top of the late winter and early spring snows, especially the lighter ones and as the snow melted. My husband now does this with grass/clover seed (like last year) and it has worked great. Of course, I recall even things said about May snow, for my mother was born in May and it snowed on the day she was born!
Of course, all my grandmothers/aunts often joked that the babies were caused by late winter and early spring snow falls.*heehee*
Take care,
Jennifer
Author
Farmers in our area sowed seed on snow too, Jennifer. My husband has done that on our farm. And I'm a September baby, so could be ther was a snow storm in January that year.