March 2022 - On & Off Earth
As our short trip through February wraps up and we finally, hopefully, wind down this long, cold winter, the month of March arrives with more dramatic changes guaranteed. Backed by over two extra minutes of sunlight every day, at an ever steeper angle, southern air will begin to win more of the air mass battles, driving the northern chill back toward the poles. We will notice the battle results in big temperature swings and gusting winds; hang on to your hat, it’s March.
Perhaps, the most shocking, but human created change this month occurs on the 13th. At 2am we “Spring Forward” our clocks, moving an hour of daylight in the morning to the evening. Early risers will, again, wake in the dark, evening walkers still out safely until 8pm. No longer an early riser, losing that hour of sleep is an easy trade-off for the lingering evening light of Daylight Saving Time.
Living and walking in the woods, I realize, every day, that I share the forest with a host of plants and animals and while some are aware, most are oblivious to my existence and all are unconcerned with my welfare. My safety is in my hands alone and while far from fearful I am fully aware of that on every walk. The snowpocalypse on January 3rd added a new danger.
The snow from that devastating storm is gone but the damage to our forests remains, and will for months, perhaps years. The woodlands of Louisa are now full of widow-maker snags of bent and broken pines and cedars mixed with splintered beeches and maples. Some of my trails are still closed, others require tricky detours and step-overs; clean up is slow, more debris falls daily.
On several recent days, wild, gusty winds, fueled by air mass battles, have added new, sinister sounds to the howling of the wind. The sudden creaking and then snapping of those weakened, broken and hanging branches and tree tops, all quick to answer gravity’s call have shortened or delayed several walks of late; be careful out there, the planet really doesn’t care about us.
March’s Full Worm moon is on the 18th. Two days later our nearby star is, briefly(@ 11:33am), directly over Earth’s equator and Spring begins (Fall down south). Having spent the last six months warming the southern hemisphere, the sun will spend the next six months beaming down more directly on the northern end of our planet.
The winter constellations still sparkle in the evening sky but no planets are visible until Venus and Mars rise about two hours ahead of the sun. Venus is the bright one, Mars, always reddish and much dimmer. Saturn and a waning crescent moon join them for quite a show pre-dawn on the 27th and 28th. The sun begins March with Aquarius as a backdrop, our revolution moving our star into Pisces on the 13th.
Louisa County, as a whole, and Louisa Public Schools more directly suffered a great loss with the passing of Mr. Sherman Shifflett on Valentine’s Day. A wonderful man, always a pleasure to encounter and visit with, his positive influences are destined to linger long in the thousands of lives he touched and changed. As I offer my condolences to his family and close friends and share in their sadness, I also know we all have a better place in our hearts and souls for having known Sherman Shifflett.
Finally, not cold...whew
Today On Earth
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