Well, we’re just about halfway through the third month of the year, and signs of spring are popping up everywhere. This sounds great, promising even, but let’s look at that transition from winter to spring that involves a roller coaster of temperatures, slushy wet ground, potholes, and more. By the time February hits up here in the North, I, along with most people, feel strongly motivated by thoughts of warm weather and longer days ahead. However, our brains often like to skip over the transition aspect, where Mother Nature can’t make up her mind about what season we’re actually in!

If you live in the North, you’re probably aware of the notion of “false spring” and “second winter.” What this simply means is that we get a week or two of nice weather with temps above freezing, and then, BAM! Winter is back! After that “second winter,” it’s usually time for actual spring unless, of course, the cycle repeats. Let me demonstrate this with some pictures below.

The picture above was taken February 26th. I was sat outside on my bare deck with my socks and a sweatshirt on, soaking up the sunshine with my cat. The picture below was taken about a week later, when winter poked its head back in the doorway and said “Guess who’s back!!!” You’ll notice all of the fresh powder drifted up on these ice formations.

I am well aware that these two pictures are of different things, but surely you get the idea that one week, we were catching a spring vibe, and the only thing we were catching the next week was a cold if we didn’t put on those heavy winter jackets.

As someone who enjoys a good stroll at any time of the year, this specific time might be the worst. Do I wear my heavy winter boots? Will running shoes be okay? Let’s decide this using the pic above. Winter boots would be great when there’s a lot of snow, but wearing them at this time of year might be overkill. Running shoes might be great, there’s plenty of open grass, I don’t have to step on the snow patches, and my only concern may be wet spots in the grass. I made an educated decision and decided to wear my Blundstones. WRONG! My unsuspecting self stepped straight into a camouflaged puddle. But my boots are waterproof? The puddle didn’t care! It was so deep that the water went over the height of my boot, and straight in through the top. I just can’t win I guess. Gotta love the wonderful guessing game we get to play at this time of year, right?

Besides all that, the number one thing I see online at this time of year, specifically Facebook, is pothole complaints! It’s like they just somehow come out of hibernation once the roads clear up, and no amount of city efforts to refill them work, not as long as the frozen roads/ground still exist. Everyone complains as well about the lack of city action, but I think that’s an issue in every city, not just the one I live in. I wish I had a picture to show you just how many potholes are in our city roads, but I think you have a good idea.

I could complain and complain about this awkward time of year, but I really am getting excited about the signs of a new season starting. That’s all for today, thanks for reading to the end, and let’s hope spring and all of the good things that come with it come soon!