Spring! And Earth is like a child who has learned many poems by heart. For the trouble of that long learning she wins the prize. — Rainer Maria Rilke, excerpt from Sonnets to Orpheus I, 21
When I turned the calendar to March I greeted the meteorological arrival of spring. And then on March 20th, I celebrated the Vernal Equinox. I mean, spring is absolutely a season that one should celebrate more than once! Right?!
And though it feels like the month has just raced past… I focused on each day entirely and in doing so I witnessed so many moments of wonder!
A tug of war… sometimes gentle, other times all out war… between winter giving way to spring. It certainly was a month that held all the weather!! Rain, winds, snow, freezing temperatures, warming temperatures… in the winter to spring confusion summer even burst on the scene for one brief day. I think the weather actually helped me stay focused on observing closely the day! There was not a lot of lots of days all the same (sort of like summer!) but instead the weather kept me on my toes!
All this weather chaos has contributed to a very chaotic closet as the month draws to a close and so, of course, I have tidy the closet on my list this week. There is detritus of all the seasons of clothing haphazardly lying about. I’d like to start April without the added chaos of a messy closet!
Each day, I have been reading a bit from Adrian Bell’s A Countryman’s Spring Notebook, which has been absolutely perfect. His journals likewise begin with the meteorological spring and his early March musings are timeless as they seemed very true as I read them this month. In his entry from March 12, 1977 “The Winds of March” he writes of old leaves galloping over new grass… oh yes, there were lots of galloping leaves here this month too! There is something calming in reading how similar things are decades apart… a thread running through, as it were.
I watched a literal explosion of daffodils emerge and bloom this month, as well as tender snow drops being tossed about by the wild winds. Their white flowers reminding me of petticoats as they shook in the winds! I also had the very predictable deer come through and eat to the ground any tulip leaves that dared to emerge… those same deer mowed down most of my grape hyacinths as well. It seems that daffodils are the only thing currently safe from their foraging. I am ending the month with the promise of a bounty with the April blooming daff’s all showing a plethora of buds!
The other most notable thing of all this month is the birdsong! It begins in the early morning with the Robin’s cheerily calling… in a bit of a Round Robin… as one calls, then others answer in turn. They are the first true Singers of Spring though… or maybe they are just the loudest! But the best day… after winter seemed to put an exclamation point on its leaving by depositing more than a dusting of snow… it seemed all of nature was in shock. That morning Frankie and I walked in total silence… as if the birds could not find one good thing to sing about thanks to all that snow! Thankfully, the snow was short-lived and the birds have returned to their raucous singing! I much appreciate their singing to the silence!
All that the teacher has taught her—the many thoughts pressed now into roots and long tough stems” she sings! She sings! — Rainer Maria Rilke, excerpt from Sonnets to Orpheus I, 21
And there you have how my entry to spring went! How about you? How did spring show up for you this month?
I have to agree that March seemed to zoom by! Usually I’m not all that fond of Spring (too cold and damp for me), but this year I have enjoyed it. Flowers blooming, birds singing and checking out our birdhouses. It’s fun to watch. I’m going to look for Adrian Bell’s book – it sounds perfect!
March flew by here, too, and I love your recap of all the weather and wildlife. The deer ate all of my grape hyacinth foliage and I’m betting they’ll be back for the blossoms if they ever bloom. We’ve got summer here today and tomorrow before we start on the April showers that bring May flowers. More for the deer to nibble on!
I think the weather is giving us a good excuse to celebrate spring’s arrival many times over! While Ruthie was sniffing around first thing this morning, I got to enjoy a very robust robin singing its song. It was a lovely way to start off the week!
I love the bird song in the morning these days! I have lots of daffodil shoots in my yard but no flowers yet, I think they are still a week or more away. I do feel like March wasn’t as much of a slog this year as it sometimes is.
What a lovely description of Spring. Early Spring certainly is different than mid or late Spring. I am also enjoying the bird song as I walk in the neighborhood.
March flew by for me but actually all of 2026 has been speedy so far. I cannot believe how warm it is already and wish for the days when it was cooler in the spring.
Isn’t it funny how March seemed to fly for all of us? In all our separate corners and various lives? Speaking of which, I love that you’re reading A Countryman’s Spring Notebook — what a wonderful way to slow down, observe, be present. And sort of be a citizen scientist. Spring and fall are such especially rich times for that.
It’s so good to be here and hear your voice, Kat! And to hold these words together. Thank you!
Yes Sprin g is here. Oddly my deer doesn’t like tulips, but is rather partial to geraniums! My tulips are coming into their full glory now. Time to to be outside and enjoy the new season.