Well, here it is. March. The month we’ve been waiting for … dreading its arrival … excited to see it come.
Ernie and I are in the throes of cabin fever. This winter has been cold and that makes it long. We keep watching the sun, as if the increasing day length will cause our ‘Spring’ anxiety to diminish. It’s higher in the sky now and we’re starting to feel its warmth more. We’re giving long, loving glances at our deck chairs … neatly stacked against the side of the garage, barely visible over the snow drift. Ernie’s starting to fondly think of that first mosquito; I’m watching for the first deer tick … oh how we’ve missed them. This winter has been long.
And, as we begin looking for any sign of spring, we start to notice there are, indeed, signs all around us. When did they come? Have they been there a long time, we wonder? The stately spruce trees in our area have provided us a lovely green presence in the barren wilderness for months but, now, they appear to be spreading the ends of their graceful branches like hands, holding generous dollops of whiter-than-white icy frosting. Not to be left out by their neighbors, we’re seeing smudges of rosy auburn on the ends of the birch branches and spritzes of chartreuse here and there, dancing off the tips of the poplar trees. The maple trees are starting to swell their crimson buds and, truly, no one can miss the long delicate fingers of our neighbor’s weeping willow that literally effervesce a luminous canary yellow as they drive by.
The deer and wild turkeys have been visiting our bird feeders all winter but, as the snow and cold drag on, their appetites are getting more voracious as their food supply gets buried deeper from their reach and their presence in our yards is visible almost any time of the day now. The squirrel activity is starting to reach a fevered pitch, which is driving our dog nuts. It seems they know just how close to the oversized snowbank’s edge to scamper that is safe from Lily’s reach; good exercise for the dog but frustrating to her nonetheless. And, today, a pair of trumpeter swans returned to a springfed opening on our lake.
Like sprinters at the starting line, it looks like all God’s creations in Mother Earth’s winter world are getting lined up for the ‘Spring Marathon’, bracing for the sound of the starter’s pistol. It is beginning to look like spring up here in the woods!!
Yup, spring is starting to come to Minnesota. But, hold up … not so fast. It’s only the first of March and we have a plethora of climates to adventure through before this month ends … just like last year and the year before, and the year before that and, probably, the year Minnesota was just a tiny dot on the globe. We can either have 60 degrees and we’re donning shorts, feverishly searching for our flip-flops (please, please, puh-leeze) OR we’re dejectedly peering out the window at 3 feet of freshly fallen snow, screaming ‘Will it ever end???’ And, too many times, we’ve seen that scenario happen in the same week! In fact, just to prove the point, the weatherman has predicted precipitation somewhere between 0-11” for this weekend alone! Minnesota can be cah-raazzzz-eee in March!!!
So, tucked in at the end of the road, Ernie and I will just settle in to wait it out … play Cribbage, build crosses, and enjoy the ride, whatever it might be. Maybe it’ll be as smooth as silk; maybe as rough as riding a corncob. (My dad used to say that. In fact, he used to say a lot of weird things that I don’t understand to this day.) All we know is that this month will come in as a lion and leave as a lamb, or, vice versa. And, on March 31st, we’ll be able to tell you all about it with extreme accuracy. Until then, friends, be well. Life is good!!!
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland
Remember to set your clocks ahead on Sunday, March 11th! Here’s some of the other noteworthy days this month:
National Peace Corps Day – Tuesday, March 6th
St. Urho’s Day – Friday, March 16th
St. Patrick’s Day – Saturday, March 17th
First day of Spring – Tuesday, March 20th
Palm Sunday – Sunday, March 25th
National Vietnam War Veteran’s Day – Thursday, March 29th
Good Friday – Friday, March 30th
Passover Begins – Saturday, March 31st
These great CTW family members received and shared crosses this past month:
Open Door Community Church – Breezy Point, MN
Community Lutheran Church – Bullhead City, AZ
Carmen – MN
Don – MN
SonRise Christian School – Bluffton, MN
Bonita – MN
Jason – MN
Sheila – NV
Dodie – MN for Central MN Teen Challenge
Jackie – PA
Our Saviors Lutheran Church – Topeka, KA
Grace Baptist Church – Anaconda, MT
Central MN Faith Community Nurses – St. Cloud, MN
HELP US HELP YOU!!
Good Friday and Easter are quickly approaching. If you need crosses to hand out during these services or for any other purpose this month, please let us know as soon as you can.
The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created spring.
– Bern Williams
CROSS THE WORLD 