March 7 part 2

The veracity of the groundhog is at stake today. Put another way, we’ve taken two steps backward in our seasonal progression.

In summer, I greatly admire Paxton’s situation at high altitude here among the Wachusett Mountain foothills. When the lower towns just 8 miles from here swelter in the July heat and humidity, we often are 5 to 10 degrees cooler, which makes such a difference.

In March, it can be a cruelty, as early spring (or late winter, depending on your point of view) storms back in from the ocean. Just 8 miles from here it is raining, while Paxton is blessed with 6” of snow – a heavy, wet snow that sticks to the evergreens and sags them over.

I am looking out the office window now, watching the snow pile up in the raised garden beds down at the lower end of the yard. This same scene was a Currier and Ives picture in December, but my patience has worn thin in want of sunshine and the verdant smell of Earth. March is fickle, and the weatherman has forecasted a stretch of 50s in a few days.