Washington's Birthday!! A Look Ahead To March

Today should be the federal holiday marking George Washington's Birthday!! Alas, the rewrite of history continues, the hard facts of reality long hidden slowly brought to light but the reality remains, Without George Washington, there would likely be no United States of America!! Deal with it, whiners!

No big quake action, shaking the garlic in Gilroy, CA a bit. A cold rain here that is forecast to be short lived, done and move on by afternoon before warmer days arrive.

And, my monthly column...

March 2021- On & Off Earth

During my time teaching Earth & Space science, I was occasionally asked, during our astronomy unit, “what’s your favorite planet?” My quick response was always the same: Earth. That was not one of the responses students were hoping for but I persisted and still do. We share our solar system with 7 other amazing planets as well as thousands of other very cool space objects but we have, far and away, the best of them all.

Wonderfully habitable as Earth is, it remains an active, dangerous, unpredictable place to live your life for all inhabitants. Last month, I downplayed the lack of cold, snow and ice during recent winters; be careful what you wish for. Earth seems to be continuing the trend toward extreme weather events.

Last year reset records for world temperatures, hurricane numbers and wildfire size and intensity, all amidst a viral pandemic. The recent return and extended stay of the Polar Vortex and our bouts of snow and the dreaded freezing rain should remind us of the Earth basics: there will be change and we need to be ready to adapt. March’s potential for rapid change, from winter to spring (with hints of summer) and back, makes adaptation a daily consideration.

March begins with outside walks still dominated with the muted, sepia tones of winter, the flat light of cloudy days allowing long views through the woods of our rolling Piedmont terrain. By month’s end, the pale greens of young leaves and the colors of early blossoms will shorten but liven those views. 

While I’ve enjoyed the return of snow and how it adds beauty and contrast to those winter views, the slipping on the refreeze and slopping through the melt is not quite as much fun as I remember. Snow is much more fun on skis than on foot. I’m looking forward to less messy trails and the warmth and green that March will occasionally and eventually bring.

As this rather chilly and quite wintery February winds down, the lengthening daylight reminds us the long winter darkness is coming to an end. The full shock of that extra light doesn’t happen until a little later this year; Daylight Savings Time beginning as late as it can, the second Sunday in March being the 14th this year. 

By then, days are close to equal periods of light and dark; sunrise and set both occurring at 7:18 on St. Patrick’s Day. Earth’s atmosphere bends the light of sunrise and sunset a bit, pushing the “equal night” of the Equinox up a few days. Spring officially begins at 5:37am EDT on the 20th as our tilted planet’s solar orbit brings the sun back across the equator and over the northern hemisphere, where it will beam down more directly for the next six months. Time for sunscreen!!

After October’s two Full moons, all the Full moons of 2021 occur late each month; March’s Full Worm moon on the 28th. Except for slowly sinking and dimming Mars, all the other planets are behind the sun and barely visible just before dawn. The sun begins March well into Aquarius and moves into Pisces on the 13th.

Since late January, on my midday wander on my favorite planet, I’ve been seeing the harbinger of spring, a flock of robins, out worming in the field behind my woods. I hope you are able to get out, safely, for a wander and find your sign of spring in the warmer, better lit days ahead.