March is finally here. February is the shortest month on the calendar but it always feels like the longest month of the year. This year it seemed particularly cold and we were all fed up with it a few weeks ago. March is the last real month of winter and it's the month when the sun really starts to make itself felt. We may still have some pretty cold days (like today) but we know the end is in sight. It seems the willows feel the same way. I picked these branches a couple of weeks ago on our walk home. There is a spot on the trail where I've often noticed the pussy willows out a little earlier than anywhere else but I wasn't expecting them already, especially after so many weeks of -30 and -40 weather. They tell me that spring really is coming and in a few months we will smell grass and feel rain and walk around without jackets on.