Treading Water

The other day my wife pointed out to me that the picture on the small calendar that I had put on our main computer shows sap buckets on maple trees with just the remnants of snow remaining on the ground. My reaction was where in heck was that picture taken? Surely not in Maine!! Those conditions happen in April in Maine and this is only early February! Must have been Connecticut.

So I began thinking hmmm March is maple syrup month in Maine. It shares mud season with April since that's when most of the snow melts. January is always known for its January thaw, a warm spell usually punctuated with at least one big rain that turns everything including the car doors to solid ice once the below zero weather returns. December is, of course, when you always say, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"

But February? What is February known for in Maine? For me, of course, it's hibernation time. More than any other time of year, February is time to tread water, keep the stove fed, sleep, eat, and wait for warm weather.

Actually, here in Maine, February is Florida month!

We tried that one year, drove down to visit friends on the Panhandle, walked the white sandy beaches, enjoyed 60-degree temps (it was a cold spell down there that week), and then followed right up the tailpipe of a huge snowstorm all the way home. The snow in my driveway was a foot and a half deep with a three foot deep snow bank where the driveway meets the road. And that's a conservative memory full of denial! We parked next door.

Nope, just stay home, stay warm if you can, and tread water. It can't be more than another two or three months left.