March roared into Wisconsin like a lion last week, spewing sleet and snow like curses all over the street (or maybe that was me. It’s hard to tell under all those layers of winter scarves).
The aftermath, of course, looked gorgeous, diamond crusted and pristine.
But, spring shovels feel so much heavier, don’t they? Who among us hasn’t seen the snow fall, checked the weather report and wondered if it would melt again before we had to haul ourselves out there to take care of it?
And, confoundingly, just over a week before I was tooling around town in shirtsleeves with the top down in my cute little convertible bug.
A meme I saw a few times on my Facebook feed cracked me up. In it Mother Nature said “You can’t have all four seasons in one week” and Wisconsin said, “Hold my beer.”
That seemed about right as we sat outside our cabin in late February enjoying a campfire under a stunningly starry sky, and, one week later in the same place, tramped through knee-deep snow all bundled up in blaze orange because somebody didn’t think it was necessary to pack her winter coat.
I like spring in Wisconsin because it keeps you on your toes, the ones you probably should spruce up for sandal seasons but, oh wait! it’s snowing again.
On Ash Wednesday I walked two blocks up to church from my work and, by the time I arrived, my eye lashes were nearly frozen shut. I prayed for an early spring and, while I did, the wind shifted so I walked back to work facing it as well. Serves me right for not praying for loftier things like world peace and an end to disease.
Spring comes at Wisconsin like a full court zone press. You can’t just dribble through it. You have to make quick passes, pivot, use your peripheral vision. You can’t be intimidated by it either, or it will trap you inside.
Here’s my advice, and I offer this in the true spirit of March Madness, in which we really have no other choice. You have to embrace the craziness. Keep a nice warm jacket in your car, and maybe a pair of boots as well.
Have your camera handy too because all that wild weather has led to some breathtaking sunsets.
Here we go!
