my own march madness

at a break in the npr programming this morning, the announcer mentioned the date: march 28th. it caught me by surprise to hear that march is that close to being over. but it's fine by me. of all the months of the year, march is my least favorite. truth be told, i just don't like it. it's long. it's bleak. it's messy with mud. signs of spring appear in march but at a sluggish pace that makes me even more anxious for the month to end and april to begin. save st. patrick's day, which is not a big deal around here, there is little cause for celebration. march teases - extended daylight but wind chill temperatures, spring training but no major league games, pussy willows in snow still too deep to get through. making it to the end of march always feels like a major accomplishment. yet with a bittersweet twist, the days spent passing through it seem to fly by faster as each year cycles.

lollipops

while waiting for the bank teller to complete my transactions, i paw through the lollipop cup and read the dum-dum flavors: root beer, bubblegum, cotton candy, butterscotch. every flavor you could think of. it makes me wonder what the "mystery flavor" must be.

springing

i love this robin williams quote!
"spring is nature's way of saying 'let's party!'"

afternoon sunlight

spring sunlight streaming through the windows later and later each afternoon is making it increasingly difficult to stay inside and work. and it makes this conch by the window beautifully translucent, don't you think?

hark!

what light through yonder window breaks?
it is my solar light,
protruding through the receding snow in the sitting spot!

connemara

just in time for st patrick's day, my irish perfume arrives in the mail. i'm pretty fussy about fragrance and, when i wear perfume, this is the only one i'll wear. i discovered it when i was in ireland about ten years ago and have been ordering it online ever since. this bottle will last me about eighteen months and is one of those small luxuries that i easily convinced myself i deserve. but this time the purchase feels particularly frivolous and indulgent given the fact that so many people in this country are in such financial straits right now.

may the road rise up to meet you - and them, too.

middlemarch

a second day of playtime with the baby girl - walks and blocks and shadow play, goldfish in cups, and naps on quilts. even a lovely bowl of soup with the girl, who has just this weekend moved her family back closer to home. at the end of the day, i notice that the ides of march were again nothing to beware of this year.

one more (real) oldie

walkin my baby back home
on a fine late winter afternoon.

old lps

browsing in a store over the weekend, i came upon this display. the sign says "picture frames" and i'm sure some someone would look lovely (albeit a little weird) in the middle. but really, i want to know what songs these frames play. rock around the clock, in the still of the nite, sh-boom... if i'd had the money to blow, i'd have bought one to put on the old turntable to find out! then would i have used it for a frame? that'll be the day.

springing ahead late

all clocks turned ahead late last night except for this one - and, of course, it's the one i first see in the morning. changing it in daylight made me wonder - who selected the 2am time to change and why? because if we "spring ahead" during the daytime instead of at night, we could gracefully excuse ourselves from chores or situations we don't want to be in:

"no, i don't think i do have time to finish that report because, look - i just had to 'spring ahead'. sorry!!"
"oops, i can't finish cleaning the house because i just turned the clocks to eastern daylight time and now it's time to leave for the movies! too bad!"
"wow! would you look at the time now that i've turned my watch ahead? gotta go!"

makes sense to me!

springing up & springing ahead

probably you can't even notice this, but i spotted it and was encouraged by its appearance. there, just outside the coffee shop window, green sprouting up from the earth! and on the turn-your-clocks-ahead day.

square root day

see? the number of day of the month (3) and the number of the month (3) are the square root of the last two digits of the year (09). so today was square root day! there's more here if you want to find out all about it. i was really going to let the day pass, not do a post on it. but the next square root day will be 4-4-2016. who knows if i'll even still be blogging by then. 

but then, pi day is fast approaching...

early bird, no worm

and here he is, back again for the third day in a row. note the snowstorm, in which he is sitting, and the string of cranberries, which he is artfully ignoring. he eats no seed, no suet. he just perches, with feathers ruffled against the cold wind, and then after a bit, he flies. march is once again beginning lion-like. for this little robin's sake, i hope it ends like the lamb it's supposed to.