T.S. Eliot was wrong

In a clear indication that climate change is upon us, April is no longer the cruelest month.

T.S. Eliot was wrong. It’s March.

By April I’ll be fishing open water again. The snow will melt, and the boys of summer will begin play. It won’t be shorts and flip-flops weather, but neither will it be insulated coveralls and Scotch caps weather.

The old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb better applies these days to April. March typically comes in like a lion and retreats in the same manner.

Oh, we’ll have a few days that will offer hints of what’s to come, but nobody’s yelling “Yeehaw! It’s March.”

In a nod to transparency, I must admit I don’t know a lot about March in Montana. I’m usually gone. For years, my wife and I would head to Florida, boat in tow, and not return until the end of the month. The trip helped shorten winter.

About 10 years ago, however, we decided to forego our trip south for reasons I can no longer remember. Instead, we spent the month at home in Malta remodeling our house. Aft convince myself that what I’m looking at is an endless white sand beach instead of an endless snow-covered landscape. But then the drugs wear off, and reality sets in. Although there’s no new snow in the forecast, the weather is expected to remain unusually cold, preserving what’s already on the ground.

Barb and I are getting out of here late this month for a couple of weeks, but we’re not going anywhere tropical. At least we won’t get back to Montana until April, which isn’t the cruelest month after all, despite what you’ve heard. It’s March.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected].