In some other places, March might indeed come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.
In Florida? March comes in like a nesting sea turtle and goes out like a napping alligator. Or maybe in like a manatee and out like a (Mickey) mouse?
I’m workshopping this. My point is that March in Florida is quite a pleasant month. Is it even the best month in Florida?
I had this thought the other day when Mia and I settled into our seats at Joker Marchant Stadium, continuing our father-daughter tradition of making it to Lakeland for a Detroit Tigers spring training game.
It was a warm, blustery afternoon, with the wind blowing out to right field and, unfortunately, carrying a few Justin Verlander pitches into stands. But the biggest cheer, something that temporarily united Tigers and Yankees fans, might’ve been when the scoreboard showed the weather in Detroit, New York and Lakeland.
I think our tradition of going to a game means even more now than when Mia was little. And it inevitably reminds me of how when I was growing up — in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin — there wasn’t anything more magical than opening the newspaper and seeing photos of March in Lakeland, Vero Beach, Winter Haven, Plant City, Clearwater, Bradenton …
Now I’m turning on the TV and seeing images of Green Bay buried in 26.1 inches of snow. In March.
I’ve lived in Florida nearly 40 years and I don’t miss that. The calendar might say spring has arrived. The lingering piles of dirty snow banks say otherwise.
Here in Northeast Florida, March is the month of the Gate River Run and The Players Championship. And even if it was unusually hot for the 49th running of the 15-kilometer race and rain interrupted the opening round of the 52nd edition of the golf tournament — nobody said our March weather was perfect — it still has been quite a month.
I’ve thought that in the morning, when walking Ranger and hearing so many birds. (According to my Merlin app the other morning, northern cardinals, blue jays, Carolina wrens, mourning doves, red-bellied woodpeckers, tufted titmouses and even a few barred owls getting in some “who cooks for you” calls before the sun comes up.)
I’ve thought of what a glorious month this in the evening, when stepping onto the back deck and thinking this is the sweet spot for enjoying that space.
March is the Goldilocks of months in Florida. Not too cold, not too warm. The sun still feels good and the shade still works when it’s a bit warm.
(I know ideal temperature is subjective. I love our recent 45-degree mornings. My wife would say that’s way too cold.)
Sure, March does bring a dusting of pollen. And when I say dusting, I mean only a few inches less than that snowfall in Green Bay. But if you aren’t too congested, oh, my, the scent of the air in March is something to behold.
In some parts of the state, March still smells like orange blossoms. In other parts, it smells like Coppertone.
March is a month of festivals all over Florida. The Marathon Seafood Festival. The Plant City Strawberry Festival. The Sanibel Shell Show and Festival. The Weeki Wachee Swamp Festival.
When I lived in South Florida, March meant the Miami Open on Key Biscayne, a distinctive setting for a tennis tournament. (Now it’s at Hard Rock Stadium, which never will be quite the same.)
In this part of the state, we have everything from the Concours d’Elegance on Amelia Island to the 7 Creeks Fest in North Jacksonville to the Lions Seafood Festival in St. Augustine.
I usually try to go to the 7 Creeks Fest. I missed it this year, partly because there was so much going on that weekend. But it served as a reminder: I need to get back there before it’s too late, before the bugs return.
Is there a better month in Florida? October? November?
I do love November in Florida.
November brings something we all can give thanks for: the end of hurricane season. It’s the month when you can finally step outside in the morning and not be draped in a blanket of heat and humidity, the month when the cool air means I can return to the woods.
November makes you appreciate a lot of the things you take for granted in March.
So enjoy what remains of March. There’s something to be said for April, when the spring crowds begin to thin and the interstates become a little less congested. But we know what’s around the corner. And November is a long way away.
mwoods@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4212
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: An ode to March: Is it the best month in Florida? | Opinion
Reporting by Mark Woods, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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