A Daffodil in March
A daffodil is blooming in my garden. In March. Anyone who is not from eastern Idaho will not appreciate the amazingness of that statement. People in other places think there are four seasons--summer, autumn, winter, and spring. In eastern Idaho we have six seasons--summer, autumn, winter, fake spring, second winter, and "ugly but real" spring. Summer, autumn, and winter here are like in other places, but then in March fake spring comes. It is usually a week or two of nice weather, during which the snow melts and newcomers to the area rejoice that winter is over. Those of us who have lived in eastern Idaho a long time feel a little smug about our knowledge of how nature works here. We say things like, "Don't let it fool you. Winter isn't over yet." A few years ago in March I heard a college student, who was from here, say her roommate, who was from California, was convinced that spring had arrived, but she warned her, "No it isn't. It will snow fiv