March

"The stormy March has come at last,

with, wind, and cloud, and changing skies;

I hear the rushing of the blast, That through the snowy valley flies."

William Cullen Bryant

March is one of the my favorite months, for I greatly enjoy its temper and violence that is played out in the weather. The first Sunday of a month brought a widespread blanket of snow across the area, up to 5 inches locally. A week later we were in the 60's and I saw the first crocus blooms of summer. Last weekend, a supercell thunderstorm shown here delivered golfball size hail and 107 mile an hour winds in the Quad Cities. A few hours south tornadoes were wreaking havoc through central Illinois. We enjoyed nothing quite so violent, but did receive nearly three inches of much needed rainfall.

Yesterday saw a day of giant snowflakes, which deposited a couple of inches by day's end. The next week looks pretty cold as well, so any gardening and landscaping projects will have to wait until a nice spring day!