The Year - 3rd March

It is here, March has arrived. The dark days may still be hanging around but it is still March. The drudgery of February is OVER!!!



And let's be honest the year is a funny old thing, we neatly split it up into Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.



We can all asign months to seasons and say January is winter and September is Autumn, but is the year really that simple and clear cut?



If the year is broken into seasons let us look at the months that are held in these -



Winter - Let us assume that Winter is November, December and January. What is it that makes winter "special"? By November the run up to Christmas is well under way. At the same time the sky is lit up with fireworks and we all "ooh and ahh" at the beauty of these. As the co-owner of a firework company is see these all year, but even i have to say that there is something special about fireworks in November.



As the month rushes on and draws to a close December arrives with a bang. Christmas, Christmas and Christmas. The shops are full of it, the concerts focus upon it and Churches thrive on it. Children become more and more excited and desperate for Santa to arrive with the gifts that they wait for with anticipation. Families and food followed by a further celebration of New Year. And that leads into January, the end of Christmas and the strange anti-climax that this brings. However let us not forget that January still offers Burns Night and Wasailing to ensure a good apple crop for the new cider. Finally who can ask for more than the added exitement of a snow fall that often comes at the end of the month.



So Winter is filled with excitement and joy and the Christmas spirit quite happily remains until the end of January.



And then it is Spring............



Spring - February, March and April. Spring signifies the true new birth of the year after the coldness of Winter, or is early spring just a dire time?



February is a sadly poor month. Nothing really is good about February, I know it has Valentines day in it but is this one small patch of light really enough to lift the spirits February encourages. Christmas is over, Summer is a long way off, and it is still dark, damp and cold. Thankfully February is only 28 (or 29!!) days long and then March can come roaring in.



Now March offers a new start, often the month comes storming in roaring like a lion and showing off. But, it does offer light at the end of the tunnel, spring is truly beginning. Days are getting longer and the sun tentatively puts in the odd appearance as March matures. Christmas and New Year are just distant memories and a time to look forward to, but Summer is now coming, trees and plants are now growing and as March came in as a lion its meekness is shown at the end as it goes out like a lamb, a newborn Spring lamb!!



As March ends April dances in, often with showers and sometimes a cold snap, but as lambs are born and plants blossom, April heralds the end of spring and announces the imminent arrival of Summer. April often brings Easter with chocolates and flowers, but it also brings a taster of a summer to follow.



Summer - What is summer if not a period of warm balmy days and long evenings. May, June and July.

May offering a hint of the summer to follow with often early May showing long days and heat, and then all too often mid May teases by being wet and sometimes jumper weather again. But really this is just to make us appreciate the next more............

June is classed as true Summer, it is a time of greenery, heat and hayfever. All around plants are blooming and fields are growing. June offers a true chance to appreciate all that is good. Warmth abounds and even when it rains the day remains fairly warm and not really jumper weather. June offers nice long days and naturally opens the door for July.

July is a calm and warm month, it is also a month where crops come into their own as they develop fully and the shops are filled with fruit and vegetables.

However July also very, very gently hints of Autumn as the days grow ever so slighlty, almost unnoticeably, shorter. Where the sun set at 9.30pm it now sets at 9.15pm and in the morning there is slightly more dew on the trees. But July is still a month of beauty and definately Summer.

August - August is a month that really stands alone. Is it Summer or Autumn? Traditionally it is Summer. A holiday month and one of sun and laughter. But is it? August starts off as a true Summer month, however as things progress by mid-month it is definately showing signs of things to come. Crops are now ready to be harvested and end of summer fetes and festivals are underway, and these lead nicely into Autumn. -

Autumn - Some of August, September and October are true Autumn. When summer departs but a true harvest occurs.

September heralds the true start of Autumn, Last Night of the Proms says a fond farewell to Summer in true style and sets the scene for the Autumn and then Winter to follow. As harvests are gathered in and stored away the shops become full of an abundance of vegetables and fruit as produce is fully available.

In retail however shops are readying for (what they hope) will be a Christmas rush of shoppers. Earlier and earlier Christmas arrives in-store to build up a frenzy by December, however, September still remains a month of limited heat and the remenats of Summer. These are much more important!!

October brings the end of the full harvest although in many cases the start of the apple harvest. But, by the end of the month all is quiet. The heat has left and the schools are now preparing in earnest for festivities.

So what about October, this month holds the final residues of Summer and a chance to ready all for Winter. More importantly October still finds time to celebrate the dead and ghoulish as Halloween is partied at the end of the month.

And this festivity neatly brings in the true arrival of November and thus winter and the full circle of the year.

So, now I have looked at all the year what does that mean as we enter the start of March?

March represents, as I have stated, the true start of the year as festivities are finally left behind. What my synopsis of the year really shows is that actually things are not all bleak and every month has something to offer.

So whilst, at times, things seem bad, and at times months seem endless as does all time, maybe a quick glance at this "calendar" may actually allow us all to see that there is a future and we can't stop it.

whatever happens - "the sun will still rise, the tide will always come and go. However bleak things seem a day is only as long as 24 hours and tomorrow is a new day"

I hope it helps!!!