Normally, March is the month I dislike the most. It is a grouchy, unpredictable mess of a month at a time when I’m winter weary and just want to get on with warmer weather.
This year however, Mother Nature delivered a delightful surprise in a very mild winter and a March that has felt more like April.
I cannot recall another March when I was out riding my bike in such unseasonably warm temperatures. Admittedly, the winds were brisker than comfortable, but it felt so good to be blowing out the mental cobwebs on a mid-March ride.
This is the month when the sap starts running in the trees as the daylight gets longer and the sun gets warmer. That means maple syrup time.
Canada produces over 70% of the world’s maple syrup and the vast majority of it comes from Quebec. This month a Quebec-style maple syrup festival was hosted at Sugar Beach. Combined with a beautiful sunny day, people were out in force.
We were just passing through on our bikes and stopped long enough to take a few photos.
The warm March temperatures have also meant it has been really pleasant to be out exploring on the urban trails along the Don River.
… but even on a sunny day, there were reminders of exactly how bleak the landscape looks in March.
Today is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and if March is any indication, we have a lot of beautiful weather to look forward to.
Changing Seasons is a monthly photo feature hosted by Cardinal Guzman.
My Life Lived Full 
It is so odd to see a maple syrup festival without snow! I feel like you should be freezing your butt off and pouring the sap in the snow to make tire (humph – in English it says ‘tire.’ Is there an English word for la tire?).
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hmmm – that’s actually not a french word I’ve encountered before – maybe because I’ve never been to a real cabane à sucre. The translation I’m getting is ‘drawing’ … as in drawing on the snow.
… and yes, normally in March we would have snow and be freezing our butts off 😉
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If I had to guess it’s from the verb ‘tirer’ – to pull, because you pour it out on the snow and them pull it back and forth as it gets gooier and then sort of solidifies. Then you spin it around and eat it off a popsicle stick. I feel like it would hurt my teeth these days
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I think that’s a good bet, because from what I read “la tire” appears to be a colloquialism which is why it didn’t translate.
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Our friends in Canada gave us maple syrup last summer that they made….oh it was wonderful!!
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I like how you were featuring many amazing things that may happen in the warm month
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Thank you 🙂
Compared to last year’s March entry, this year it doesn’t even look like the same season!
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Looks like a nice day with beautiful sights. It’s funny how March can be viewed differently by location. Here in Arizona, March is fairly warm and must be enjoyed because by May, the heat is annoying 🙂
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Yes, I think we all have preferences depending on where we live. I’m sure I would love March somewhere else where the weather is less grouchy and unpredictable.
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It is a bit of a tease, old March! Sometimes you think Spring will start and then snap back comes winter…great photos!
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Like the forecast for this week. Looks like it’s going to get messy
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Beautiful photos. Our March has been unusually mild, too. This kind of weather isn’t going to hurt the maple syrup production, is it? I couldn’t take that kind of sadness. I love Canadian maple syrup!
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How can you dislike the month I was born in – I’m heartbroken! Lol
But I know what you mean about wanting to get out there and blow the cobwebs away, by the end of March, winter has started to outstay its welcome 🙂
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Well, I was born in March too and I’ve always thought it was a crappy month to have a birthday … maybe not as crappy as December, but still … pretty crappy.
Oh well, cheers to another successful year travelling around the sun 🙂
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Sigh….we must be sisters from a different time. February/March used to always do me in, and I’m always thankful when either month pretends to be Spring. I know the seasons serve a purpose, but I crave Spring more every year.
GORGEOUS pictures. I love hanging out at your place 🙂
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Nice post. I’m glad to hear that you’ve used your bikes to get around. The landscapes around here is bleak too, but it’ll get better soon.
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This is the first year Gilles and I have tried riding the trails around Toronto. They are very well developed and a nice alternative to braving the roads. Unfortunately with the warmer weather, the trails start to get used heavily by walkers and runners so they will become rather treacherous on a bike moving with any speed. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy them while we can.
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Yes, enjoy them while you can. I bought a new bike this weekend for my commuting. The one I have is so rusty because of all the salt they use on the roads during the winter months.
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BTW I love that “Ontario Place on the lakeshore” photo.
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Thanks 🙂 I impressed myself with that one too 🙂
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If you replace “winter weary” with “summer weary” and “warmer weather” with “cooler weather” in that first paragraph, we would be as one. I dislike three-week-long heatwaves in March…. We did have a beautiful sunny but cooler day today so maybe Autumn is on its way.
I’m happy for you that Mother Nature has seen fit to give you a decent headstart on the bike riding season. 🙂
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I have to agree that by September, I’m starting to get summer-weary if the temperatures have been on a long stretch of hot and humid. I’m not a fan of hot and humid.
Wishing you cool and moderate temperatures 🙂
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Joanne, I am so impressed with your pix these days! Really excellent….especially like that one of Ontario Place. Sap doesn’t start running here till May….weird, huh?
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That is wierd … although I’ve always thought it a bit odd that it happens as early as March.
Glad you like the Ontario Place photo. I was so impressed with that one too when I saw it on the big screen. I’ve said it before, sometimes I get lucky 😉
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It’s interesting how weather can influence how one feels about the months of the year. I always loved March growing up in Silicon Valley. The days were sunny, not yet hot like summer and a gentle breeze could be felt. All the trees would start blooming and it was time to start the garden. March s also the month I was born in so it always had something special from my point of view. Now, here in Florida, I enjoy the coolness of March and April, the rains of April and May and the cool winter months when you can turn of the AC and open the windows! 😀
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I guess it’s a bit of the opposite compared to here. For you, you’re seeking relief from the heat of summer and enjoying the cooler days of spring.
For me, I’m looking for relief from the cold of winter. By March I want the warmer days of spring.
Same season, different impressions. That is interesting!!
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Here in NorCal – April can be a Mad Hatter month. (I’m thinking of Chaucer’s “April is the cruelest month”) I love the rainbow tunnel – there’s one on highway 101 just beyond the Golden Gate bridge to Marin county that they’re thinking of naming after Robin Williams. I would love that.
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It’s true about April and I know people who dislike April because of it. Strange that I tend to frown on March instead.
I’ve always been rather fascinated with that rainbow tunnel I could see from the highway. I just figured out the trail system that passes there, so I was rather excited to get that photo.
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We never had to mow the lawn in March, but we will have to this week. It’s cold right now, but will warm up again by the middle of the week. This winter was not menopause friendly 🙂
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hahahaha!! 😀
I’m just grateful I no longer have to wear pantyhose, suits, and high heels!
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I hear you, nothing beats flats and jeans 🙂
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Amen!
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Lovely pictures! That tunnel with the rainbow colours is really nice! What a splash of colour in all the drab. We have the same colour scheme here, and I can’t say it’s been very warm. Hopefully, after tomorrow’s nor’easter, it will start to warm up.
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I guess that’s why we get so excited when the first green haze starts to show up on trees and shrubs. I’m always happy when the drabness gets ‘erased’ 🙂
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What a lovely bike ride you have! I’m always envious of the expanses of bike paths you have where you live. Biking is often too treacherous here… too many cars with their distracted drivers. Yay spring!
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This winter I’ve discovered we do have some great trails. Unfortunately as the weather gets warmer, we’ll have to take our cycling out of the city into the surrounding area. The trails get too busy with pedestrians and it becomes a hazard.
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The weather has been amazing here too! I love the splash of the rainbow in the bleak Canadiana pre spring backdrop. Won’t it be amazing to see green again?
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I didn’t appreciate how stark it really looked until I opened up that photo of the rainbow tunnel. It almost looks like it’s been photoshopped.
I was out in the backyard earlier this week and noticed the stupid tulips are starting to grow. They’re going to be in for a nasty surprise. We both know that winter is going to bang around for a while yet!
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HI Joanne. Lovely to hear about your month and see photos that link with your words. Oh, maple syrup, Sugar Beach. Love the snow pic and the redundant snow plow. Enjoy the mild weather 🙂
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I guess as we’re ramping up for spring, you’re sliding into autumn weather. Can you expect snow in the winter?
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Definitely snow on Mount Wellington that dominates Hobart. It was cool last week but back t0 early 20’s for Easter weekend. Days are definitely drawing in though.
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Nice shots. Happy spring to you, though I’m not quite ready to take off the snow tires just yet 🙂
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Good plan. I’m not fooled for a minute. Winter isn’t finished with us yet.
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[…] https://mylifelivedfull.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/changing-seasons-marching-right-along/ […]
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We seem to be set to get one last blast of winter tonight, but it won’t amount to much. Happy spring!
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Happy Spring to you too 🙂
I know winter isn’t completely finished with us, but that’s ok. The end is near 🙂
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Oh yeah, it is the first day of spring, isn’t it? You know, this a show on called Mom. It’s a sitcom, pretty funny. I wonder if you have it broadcast over there. Anyway, there was recently an episode where they go to Canada to smuggle syrup over the Canadian border.
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I LOVE that show!! … and I saw that episode 🙂
I’ve been a huge fan of Allison Janney since The West Wing and she’s as brilliant in a comic role as she is in a drama.
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Oh me too! Allison Janney just makes that show for me.
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Fantastic pictures. Yes, we have been lucky this year, but I too am anxious for green grass, buds bursting on trees and warm sunshine.
Before the time change last weekend, I noticed the mornings were lighter at 6:30 a.m. What happened after our clocks sprang forward? It dark as coal at 6:30 now.
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That’s ok. In another couple of months, we’ll be grateful it’s bright at 5:30 am and not 4:30 😉
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😀 😀 There’s always another way of looking at a thing. ❤
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I did enjoy that bit of warm weather, but I also enjoy how cold it was this weekend, giving me permission to read and watch movies 🙂 It’s supposed to warm up again later this week, but it can’t fool me, it usually snows at least once in April!
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Gah! Yes, it does the same thing here. It’s always foolish to put away the winter clothes before the end of April!
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I had Canadian maple syrup on my French toast this morning. Mmmmm…
I’m hoping this cool spell turns around again in the next week. I want to ride the bike again!
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Me too! The sun is out today and I really wanted to go out to ride in spite of the near freezing temperature.
Spinning downstairs on the trainer just isn’t the same
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