Sean D. Francis

Five Ways to Celebrate Springtime in March

Posted on 03 March 2010

I felt it this morning.  I thought I felt it last month, but I truly felt it this morning.  Spring is coming.  In Chicago there are still large piles of snow in the middle of parking lots and I’m still very appreciative of my heavy blankets at night, but there is something in the air.  It is the hope that the gloom of a gray Chicago winter is about to be chased away with the glory and wonder of a bright beautiful Chicago spring.  Such hope makes me start to ponder the kind of activities I can partake in now that the snow will soon be gone.

Build a Kite

I don’t know why but kite flying and March seem to go hand in hand.  I guess it is because March is supposed to be a windy month.  Living in Chicago, all the months seem windy.  While buying a kite is always an option, there is something about the process of building a kite of your own.   I grew up in Montana out in the boondocks and we actually had Quality Chekd milk delivered to our house by an honest to god milkman.  What does this have to do with kites?  Well, each spring he would bring kite kits for the kids.  Building the kite from the kit was a great way to spend an afternoon.

You don’t need a kit, though, as a simple kite is a remarkably easy thing to construct.  The website How to Make and Fly Kites provides instructions on how to accomplish exactly that.   Of course, if you are a traditionalist, you may want a kite like the one Ben Franklin flew.  This is the kind of kite that I like to build as it is simple, requiring a small amount of items to construct.

Pi(e) Day

March doesn’t seem very circular but on March 14th math geeks across the land rise up and celebrate.  Pi or 3.1415…. is a sacred irrational number in math and March 14th (3/14) gets celebrated with pie.  Pie is round, see.  It all is somehow mystically connected.  Or not.  It really is just an excuse to eat pie. If you’ve never made a pie from scratch, then why not set aside March 14th as the day that you will learn how?  There are several websites devoted to the making and baking of pies.

Visit the Zoo

March may roar in like a lion and leave like a lamb but nothing beats seeing an actual lion and petting an actual lamb.  The ability to be outside and get away from our homes is one of the reasons why we look forward to spring.  Escaping our pens to see animals that can’t escape their pens may be a bit ironic but still a lot of fun.  Check with your local zoo and see if they have any special springtime events.

Gardening

I grew up with a huge garden in my backyard.  It was a chore weeding it and caring for it, but reaping the bounty all summer long was worth it.  Living in the city, the opportunity to have a garden that actually provides a ‘bounty’ is limited.  Limited but not impossible.  Even apartment dwellers with access to outdoor space (like a deck) can still have a semblance of a garden.  First you have to be aware of container gardening.  If you don’t have a tract of land to plant in, you have to make an area that is plantable.   This will limit what you can plant, but being able to have some fresh vegetables is better than none at all.  There are many sites that offer tips on how to have a garden with limited space.

Picnic

Now March is not always the friendliest month for picnics.  The weather does not always cooperate but if there is a bright sunny day, it may be the perfect time to assemble friends and family for some outdoor dining and outdoor games.  Picnics seem like a lost art.  Maybe it is just me, but the idea of assembling a meal to put in a big wicker basket to be eaten a few hours later seems daunting.  I’ve studied enough food safety to know what a dilemma this actually is.

There are some picnic basics to keep in mind.

1. Keep it simple.  You may have visions of a grand meal served outside, but the truth is complex food is annoying to eat normally and doubly so when at a picnic.
2. Fruits and vegetables are always generally safe.  Stock up on them.
3. Anything made with mayonnaise needs to be stored in a cooler with a thermometer to keep it out of the danger zone (40 degrees F to 140 degrees F).  This includes all those wonderful picnic salads and sandwiches.
4. Remember the tarps. The ground is not going to be dry and your beautiful picnic blanket will get soaked if you lay it directly on the ground.  A few cheap plastic tarps put on the ground first will make it a much more enjoyable event.
5. Activities.  Packing up a picnic and heading off to a park for lunch is great, but while there, why not enjoy some activities that are best suited for large open spaces.  Tossing a frisbee back and forth, playing catch, or bocce ball are all a lot of fun and great to play in the park.
6. Pack it in, pack it out. This is a camping rule but I believe it applies to picnics as well.  Don’t leave trash behind.  If there are trash bins available, great, but don’t plan on it.  Bring along a trash bag to collect the litter.  Always try to leave the place better than you found it.

What should you put in your picnic basket? I am not going to lie, I am partial to fried chicken for my picnics.  Maybe it is a rural thing, but it just seems right.  Sandwiches are the most popular picnic food.  They meet the simple qualification and if properly stored are perfectly safe.  These are not your only options.  Consider the healthy beach picnic or a breakfast picnic.

Spring is in the air and we need to get out and enjoy it, welcome it, dust the cobwebs off our bodies and out of our minds while the sunshine fills us up with warm happy feelings.