March

A light exists in Spring
Not present in the year
at any other period
When March is scarcely here.
- Emily Dickinson

The March calendar page in the Book of Hours is a masterpiece of miniature landscape painting. I wish you could see the precise details in the big book of reproductions John gave me last year. The shine on the ox hide, the peasant's gray beard, the trim on his clothing, the vineyard pruning, the shepherd and his dog with sheep in the upper left corner. And of course the beautiful blue sky. When this tiny picture was painted in the 1400's, nothing like it had ever been done before.

The first day of March is wintry in Seattle. I peered out into the dark yard and we don't have snow on the ground, but in the outlying areas roads are icy and school is delayed by snow. But the rest of the country has been hit with violent weather that makes this look like a picnic. Everything seems to take a lot of effort right now, including getting out of bed. Hopefully, March will be "in like a lion and out like a lamb."