03.03.15  March is here.  Not much has changed outside, except that an arctic front descended into our Valley and left us with single digit temperatures.  We expected as much at the start of this month and our hope springs eternal for the lamb to carry us out four weeks from now.  We’ve moved more split wood to the front porch, added a half-dozen titles to the Netflix queue, and several new books are on their way.  Kind of the same old same old… except, there is a blue color to the lake now that is never here in the Winter.  I can’t describe it, and can’t replicate it with my water colors.  I’m always stopping at paint stores to pick up color chips to see if I can match it but haven’t found one yet.  The winds from the cold front have been blowing the fine dirt, which is exposed at the head of the lake, and swirls of hazy dust skim across the far side of the lake from time to time.  And, there’s a little tiny bird, with a rusty-red colored throat, which sits on the very top of a pine tree on our running route.  We call him the “Happy Bird” because he sings the longest, most lyrical little tune we’ve ever heard.  He’s on top the same tree every year. And, of course, there’s that nearly-full moon.   I see it rise through the trees above our house before going to bed, and all night long I adjust my head on the pillow to keep it from shining directly into my eyes.  All in all, not a bad start to this month of March when I write it all down.