Hopefully we all made it through the month of February. Although February is our shortest month, it appeared to me that it would never end and was happy to turn the page on the calendar to the month of March.

Although many of us consider March as the start of spring, cold weather and snowstorms can still occur. However we will begin to see signs of spring, such as migrating birds returning home and tinges of color appearing on the hill sides.

The weatherman tells us that March is the beginning of the meteorological spring however the date shown on the calendar as the first day of spring is March 20.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere spring will arrive on Thursday, March 20 at 5:01 a.m. Everywhere on this date, day and night are approximately equal, with the sun rising and setting due east and west.

March is a month when the season and the weather are never on the same page. The question on everyone’s mind is, “When will the weather warm up?”

Thalassa Cruso wrote “March is a month of considerable frustration — it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away.”

In March, we will observe our first thunder and lightning storms. There will be initial sightings of red-winged blackbirds, vultures, grackles and robins. We will hear the calls of spring peepers and wood frogs. Additionally, we will see skunk cabbage, coltsfoot flowers, and dandelion plants.

The male aspen trees will also display catkins hanging from their limbs.

Our word March comes from the Latin words martius, and martius-mensis, meaning the month of March. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the God of War. In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was adopted, establishing January first as the start of the year. The month of March was known, by Anglo-Saxons, as both Hlyd month, meaning stormy month, and Hraed month, meaning rugged month.

Usually, at the beginning of January, seed catalogs are found in our mailboxes. This spurs many gardeners to start planting their seeds (inside) too early. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts that the last spring frost for Williamsport is expected on April 30, however in Bradford County, this date can be approximately two weeks later.

In England and Scotland, there is an old saying that March has borrowed three days from April. Consequently, the last three days of March are referred to as the borrowed days.

Another old saying was that if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb, or vice versa.

March is a weary haul, with its 31 days, a month in which we will experience some of the most wretched kind of weather that nature can give us. Heavy or light snow, rain, sleet or a mixture of all three at the same time, along with fog, gloom and lots of gray days.

It is the month we cross from winter to spring, and by the end of the month, we will finish knee deep in mud; however, the robins will be singing.

During March there will be a full moon, which is known as the worm moon. This is because during March, we usually have warming that causes the ice and snow to melt, and when the frost comes out of the ground, we have mud. At the same time the frost is coming out of the ground, worms are also emerging, which is why the full moon in March became known as the worm moon.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.