There, March, the most volatile weather month of the year, constantly erupting with unexpected fronts dashing our expectations of spring's arrival, has made its departure, but not without a typical parting gesture.

Yesterday, on its final calendar year, March gave us a day of snow, thank you very much. Wet snow to be sure, but snow, withal. So out we went for our quotidian ravine ramble, assessing the amount of accumulated snow and ice that had melted in the past 24 hours, and it wasn't much, despite the presence of full sun the day before and temperatures above freezing.

But the new snow, wet as it was, didn't much add to the accumulation, melting as it touched the forest floor, but remaining where it fell on tree branches, so at least there resulted that bit of visual magic that no one could possibly find fault with. When we returned from our hour-and-a-half ramble it was still snowing, and it would continue the rest of the day.

And, of course, overnight. Wet slush had returned, irritatingly. But tomorrow is always another day, isn't it?

And tomorrow was April 1st, a fitting enough day for nature to play one of her endless pranks that never cease to surprise and occasionally unnerve us. When we awoke in the morning it was clear that snow had continued throughout the night, falling in lazy, wet spirals, and continuing to, albeit sparsely. A glance through the front door showed the roadway in front of the house with ribbons of black cutting the surface of the snow covering the road, from vehicles driving over the new snow.

Unlike November, when snow first appears to herald winter's onset, however, at this time of year, we know it won't last, and eventually mild temperatures will make short work of the snowpack, release the ground from its deep-frost sleep, and invite gardeners to resume their happy activities.