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The March Perspective
March 9, 2012
March is not my favorite month. It's definitely not spring and it's not the crystalline beauty of January either. It's... March.
Melting snow. Freezing snow. Falling snow. Dirty snow. Some days feel like honest-to-goodness winter, the morning temperatures hover at 0F. And other days you feel sweaty and overdressed in woolens, as the snow melts, dripping off every snow covered surface (of which there are many).
We get a little antsy in March. I've taken enough trips around the sun to anticipate this transition (knowing it's coming doesn't always make it easier but sometimes it does) and so when we feel this way I don't push through our plans and routines. There's a reason public school takes a break this month.
I don't have any weeklong school breaks planned for this month - we had a nice February break - but I'm open and looking for opportunities to add some "jazz" to our late winter days.
Any day now, sugaring season will start and I've volunteered the kids and I to help our neighbors with the "harvest". Collecting sap, tending the sugar shack woodstove, boiling syrup and warmer days - I can't wait.
The kids are in the community St. Patrick's Day concert (en Anglais) next week. A first ever for our kids to participate in a musical performance like this. The small community where we live seems happy to have fresh "talent" and fresh faces to add to their usual roster. (We are warmly and curiously received everywhere we go.)
Yesterday the kids and I ventured to a neighboring town to visit a museum and a funky, tourist friendly downtown. The museum was great. An awesome addition to our homeschooling this week. The art store, full of colorful beads and and paints, was a balm for winter weary souls.
I know I talk sometimes about living in the boonies, maybe not in my posts but in comments and online conversation. That's not totally true. It's hard to describe what it's like where we live.
It's fairly rural. The towns are small. There's no mall. No McDonald's. No Target. And really no "big" city anywhere close. The library service leaves much to be desired. There are no homeschoolers to speak of. No Whole Foods. No Trader Joes. In the winter, nothing is open after 5:30pm, except Tim Hortons.
And yet, when you drive along the coast there's a town every 15 minutes. Many with nice cafes, restaurants, microbreweries & boulangeries (bakeries). There are galleries, art supply stores (with classes), museums, and community centers for music and culture. And there's a lot more I keep discovering that isn't apparent at first glance. Treasures that I had a sense existed but you don't know until you stumble on them.
Of course many of these community resources are en Francais. But there are pockets of anglophones (right now we live in an anglophone village) to help ease our transition into a French speaking province. And miracle of miracles I am slowly beginning to understand the francophones. I really do need to follow through on my plans for some language lessons though.
In the summer there are festivals and markets, organic farms and beaches. (Of course the beaches and farms exist all year round but we can't truly enjoy them until summer.) There is a history here and a distinct culture. And mountains. The mountains with untold backcountry skiing, summer hiking and backpacking. And more outdoor stores, per capita, than other other place we've ever lived.
The neighbors we've connected with (having people in our home and being invited over likewise) are friendly and interesting. Many have grown up in the region and traveled other places but have returned here, to the safety and beauty of this area, to raise their children.
There is a wealth of interesting things to do and see here but we moved at the start of the winter season. A time when people retreat indoors, except to snowmobile and ski. A time when, I too, like to retreat and reflect and be home. Now it's March and we're starting the slow ascent out of winter towards spring. (Though I'm guessing we will still ski in the mountains till May.)
It's time to discover and explore a bit more the opportunities and attractions where we live. The very things that drew us to this place on our reconnaissance trips before moving to this region.
That's the March perspective. Venturing out a bit more - field trips, community events, time with neighbors and friends.
Coming out of winter - slowly.
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Nicole on March 9, 2012, 2:18 p.m.
Sounds like much is to be discovered and experienced as the new season emerges. My only experience with Quebec was a few days that Dear Hubby and I snuck the rental car up there while on our 3 week honey moon in New England. It was our favorite part of our honeymoon! It was in August, so no winter experience. I have really enjoyed your photos of your area.
March here is full blown spring. The almond and peach trees are nearly done blossoming, the daffodils and tulips are up, and we've had days in the 60's and 70's. For me March is energizing, I want to step up how often we go hiking. I also will be back on my bike, maybe planning to do another century this summer. Usually in March we still zip up to the Sierras and play in the snow, but this year there is hardly any snow.
The light right now is gorgeous in the mornings and evenings, and so relaxing after work with the kids and my husband and some wine in the back yard patio seems to be my March routine so far.
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Kika@embracingimperfection on March 9, 2012, 2:50 p.m.
Such a huge snow dump here this past week...people getting stuck all over. Making up for our mild winter, I suppose. I am definitely dreaming of spring and herb garden and laundry on the line (my laundry pole is currently almost entirely covered with a hill of snow). By the end of the month we usually aim to do a little trek to visit family in Red Deer/Calgary areas: little neices/nephews, in particular. I guess around this time of year I also start to reflect upon how my year has gone to date and consider new goals or plans for spring - parks, nature walks, reading in my red adirondak chairs outdoors (if snow melts early enough), etc.
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Julie on March 9, 2012, 5:40 p.m.
Hi Renee, I read your blog regularly but haven't commented. We are in coastal California, and it is sunny here, so I can't help with being snowbound. But is there an indoor pool anywhere? For me and my kids, an indoor pool is the best way to relieve the winter blahs. Fun, good exercise, and community pools seem to be a great place to meet families. Is there one anywhere near you -- even at a secondary school or something like that?
I lived in France for awhile, studied French for many years and my older DD is studying French now. For kids, just listening to lots of French helps -- Francophone radio, TV etc. If you can get some kids programs in French, all the better, because the language is simpler. Or watch movies in French with English subtitles and turn off the subtitles. I've been meaning to ask, even though you are Anglophone do you have French roots? I noticed your kids all have French names (as do you!)
Thanks for a great blog!
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renee on March 9, 2012, 8:29 p.m.
Damien's paternal family is French Canadian, though not Quebec French. I have no French roots, my parents liked the name Renee. The pool is a great idea and yes, there are good community pools here. But pool swimming is really not my thing, I don't like it at all. The kids love it though.
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Melissa on March 9, 2012, 6:31 p.m.
This time of year is typically about anticipation for me. Next to Fall, Spring is my favourite season. In my mind, March 1st is the beginning of the new season even though I know full well that there will be snow and howling winds well afterwards. March. It's a time to prepare really.
So this is the time of year when I really start thinking about what herbs to grow. The time when I begin to watch for emerging bulbs and swelling tree buds. And this year I am making gardener's soap, this weekend in fact. It will be for a treat for me, but also a gift to the crews that installed the thousands of plants I laid out in gardens last season. Something for them to use for future gardens.
And then my partner, who races sport motorcyles, is truly getting antsy right about now. Work on the race bike and street bike is ramping up. The first track weekend is in late April. There is always anticipation for this, in March. I've already begun planning the camping menu (we camp out at the track for the weekend).
This year there is an extra cycle of planning though, my elopement. It's exciting. And while I almost always can't wait for March to turn to April, this year I feel it even more. As much as I love winter in Canada, I really can't wait for March to turn to April to May.
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Misti on March 9, 2012, 6:34 p.m.
I'm sending you a little bit of spring from Texas. :)
Your knit/tea photo is beautiful.
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Catherine Forest on March 9, 2012, 9:19 p.m.
this is so sweet, Renee! You live in a beautiful area and I am sure that you will be pleased to get to know spring and summer there!
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kyndale on March 9, 2012, 9:29 p.m.
It's nice to see a little more of where you live. It's beautiful.
Well, I like March and my birthday is in March. I have to like it! :)
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Mom Tougas on March 10, 2012, 2:11 a.m.
I love March because it is the month that holds PROMISE. The promise of spring. In March we are tested with our PATIENCE. We KNOW spring is coming but we must have patience and wait for it. Kind of like looking at Christmas presents under the tree, but we have to have patience to wait until the right moment to open them. We anxiously look for the returning summer birds, the swelling buds on the trees, the melting snow running in little rivers on the ground, the warming sun on our faces. We listen for the song in the air that tells us, 'it's coming'.I think you will find some beautiful pictures to take as March marches along...
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heather on March 9, 2012, 1:33 p.m.
this was so lovely to read, it sounds like you're finding community, which i'm sure will continue to happen as the season warms and people come out of hibernation. march here is a true mixture of cold winter and warm spring, sometimes we're shoveling, sometimes we're gardening! and oh my, the wind. so much wind! it is definitely the month for emergence.