And so it goes...

This morning it was 6 above zero. Not Celsius, Fahrenheit. And throw in a strong breeze, oh say 10 mph, gusting to 20. No mud, just bitter cold. That would be fine back in January, but not now. There is no humor in it, where's the fast forward button?

Typically in March, more towards the end, the last two weeks, we warm up and lose more snow than in the whole month of April. For us, April is a winter month. But some good things about March. Days are getting longer, birds start coming back, it's supposed to be getting warmer, bare ground starts reappearing. You do get a mix of temps, and that's nice, bitter cold and spring warmth.   And the snowmachines go away. It gets quiet. People go south to avoid April. You can easily picture this area back a 100 years.

Which is what I was doing, well I do that a lot. My house sits in an old cow pasture that 100 years ago was filled with cows, but not now, I mean this time of the year. They were most likely in the barn, waiting for the snow to leave. The only way to get to Rangeley a 100 years ago, was by train, or maybe by canoe via the Androscoggin River from Brunswick, up to the twin cities of  Lewiston/Auburn,then to Rumford, over to New Hampshire to Errol, Umbagog Lake, then Mooselookmeguntic, then Rangeley Lake.

During this time of the year life slows down. And living where I do, it defines you. New England is a great place to live. It always show you more, gives you more than you expect. And after years, it grows on you. And this time of year the most valuable lesson it teaches us to slow down.