A new year...

Unless you’re a wintertime zealot— you know, into ice fishing, winter camping, x-country skiing and the like—there’s not a whole bunch of praise you can say about the month of January.  

According to our calendar, January usually brings the coldest week or weeks of the year.  You might not be a fan of February, but it’s warmer on average than January.

It’s true, the days grow increasingly longer through January.  That’s nice.  I’m always in favor of longer daylight.  However, the longer days somehow don’t seem noticeable until March…at least in my mind.   

Frankly, I don’t mean to pick on January.  Doesn’t matter what anybody says.  None of us can change January and the weather it delivers in Minnesota….

Just to be fair, let’s skip February.  It’s closely related to January anyway.  Only thing really nice about February is….well, if you’re headed for Florida or Mexico that’s nice in February.

March is one of my favorite months of the year.  Why?  Because March opens the door to spring followed by summer and autumn.  In March, the days warm enough you can fish for bluegills through the ice and NOT need gloves.  You can watch the snowdrifts slowly disappear.  

By late March, nature’s migration starts in high gear as waterfowl return as the ice recedes.  Songbirds, too.   And wild turkeys start to gobble and mean it as the days grow longer in March.  

It’s too bad we couldn’t start the year in March.  If I ruled the world there would be no January.  And February would be on probation.  Sadly, that can’t be.

So, we have no choice.  Make the best of January and grit your teeth through February.  That’s what Minnesotans do.