Spring is Around the Corner

First off, I can't believe that I didn’t even mention Valentine's Day in February. Groundhog day was important enough, it seems, but the day of chocolate and reaffirmations of love skipped my mind.

Decades ago, when I taught a few marketing classes at the Faculty of Management, University of Calgary, I had Bernard Callebaut, chocolatier extraordinaire, speak to one of my classes. At the end of class during the Q&A, a student asked what the busiest day of the year was. Of course, we all thought it might be Mother's Day, or Easter, or Valentine's Day. He laughed and said, no. It's actually the day AFTER Valentine's Day. Ordinary chocolates are sold before February 14th. The really expensive ones fly off the shelves on February 15.

But enough about last month. I love March!

Okay, it’s my birthday month, so maybe that’s part of it, but there are plenty of other reasons to look forward to it every year. The first is celebrating the Worm Moon.

Just as almost all civilizations and religions throughout history, I honour the moon that illuminates our night sky. She represents the feminine (the sun is the masculine), symbolizing the cyclical nature of life, our subconscious, renewal, and mystery. The waxing and waning, from the dark new moon to the glorious full disc, represent moving from the maiden, to the mother and finally, the wise crone (Wiccan belief).

The moon’s mystery has fizzled with space exploration. NASA has begun a new study of the moon with the Artemis missions. The first, Artemis I, was unmanned, and the Artemis II rocket is already waiting on the launch platform.

Sometime this month (the original launch on February 11 was scrubbed when a hydrogen fuel leak was discovered), four astronauts, including one Canadian, will hurtle around the moon on a ten-day mission preparing for deep space capability and future lunar landings. The Artemis program’s overarching goal is to build a lunar base and a space station called The Lunar Gateway.

Though much of the romance of our rocky satellite has faded with advances in science, who isn't moved by the full moon shining in a black velvet sky, or isn't awed by the moon's ability to generate king tides?

Lunar eclipse

March features the Worm Moon that coincides this year with a lunar eclipse on March 2. You may assume that it’s name comes from earthworms becoming active as the soil warms. Good guess, but no, it actually got the name from Captain Jonathan Carver in the 1760's who recorded beetle larvae emerging from thawing tree bark at this time of year. I leave it up to you to decide which reason you prefer, because the underlying idea is the same. Spring is (almost) here!

March is also the month with the coolest, ominous prediction: Beware the ides of March. Thank you, William Shakespeare for writing a play about the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. by his former friends, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. I can’t help but intone the warning every March 1, alternating it with the weather prediction – if March comes in like a lion, will it end like a lamb? Has anyone done a study?

Don't forget to adjust your clocks to Daylight Saving Time on March 8th. Every year, the debate rages on whether we should change our clocks. I don't really care, one way or the other, except I would not be in favour of moving to all-the-time DST. Can you imagine -- in the dark, cold days of midwinter, when the sun (already) doesn't grace until 8 AM, that we are still in darkness at 9 AM here in Calgary?

And fill your tankards with green beer on St. Patrick's Day. I can't say that I've ever had a stein of green beer, but I can't pass up a shamrock-shaped sugar cookie with green icing.

But most of all, I love the first day of spring (March 20). It makes me think of flowers, but of course, here in Calgary, we can’t count on the weather to cooperate; there could be sun, rain, sleet, or snow (even all four in the one day). It is, on average, our snowiest month of the year with an average of 23.8 cm falling, but when the snow melts, the tulips and crocus are bravely blooming underneath.  

I will watch the Worm Moon from the deck of a cruise ship. My older sister and I are taking a fifteen day cruise from San Diego to Miami, through the Panama Canal. This is my fourth time through the canal, her second. No matter how many times, though, it continues to be an amazing experience. Though I marvel at the engineering of the canal itself, the variety of ships -- from fully loaded tankers and cargo ships, to small sailboats and yachts -- going through the locks is always interesting. To accompany the voyage, a must read is “The Path Between the Seas” by David McCullough. Path Between The Seas by David McCullough | Owl's Nest Bookstore.

Since I'm leaving my laptop home for much-needed maintenance while on the cruise, I'll resort to crafting some short stories the old fashioned way – by hand. I love the tactile feel of pen on paper, but the process is so much slower than the electronic word processing programs. I am so spoiled!

One of the stories is destined for the War of the Words competition, associated with When Words Collide, an epic literary festival for all things writerly in Calgary.

Yes, I've mentioned this before! It will be the fourth year I’ve attended WWC, and it just keeps getting better. Panels, presentations, workshops, masterclasses, a games room (role playing, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.), Noir at the Bar socializing, opportunities to pitch to agents, and to receive critiques from well-known editors are some of the fabulous things that take place over a long weekend in August (August 13-16 this year). We’ll be at the Hyatt Regency, and I’ll be heading up the Volunteer Committee. For more information, check out the website:  WHEN WORDS COLLIDE - When Words Collide.

If you are interested in volunteering, keep an eye on the website, or let me know. I’ll make sure to put you on our list.

The short fiction writing competition (for both prose and poetry) is open to writers across Canada, the US, and attendees of When Words Collide 2026. Whether you're an experienced writer or new to the craft, you’re invited to showcase your creativity and storytelling abilities.

The contest is open to all writers, regardless of whether you attend the festival. Deadline for entry is March 31, so sharpen your pencils and submit! The theme this year is the view from within and beyond.  War of the Words - WHEN WORDS COLLIDE.

Click here to buy a copy of the winning stories from last year. War of the Words Story Competition

And a big BY THE WAY! Hopefully, I’ll be able to launch book two of my Janice Maidstone Mystery series at When Words Collide this year! Watch for it at the Sisters in Crime table in the Merchant Room!

So I leave you now to enjoy the first days of spring. If the tulips in your garden aren’t blooming yet, I’m sure Safeway will have a beautiful bunch available.