In Like a Lion...

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb...
and how true THAT'S been this year - at least in my neck of the woods. We've had rain, and lots of it lately, and the wet ground just couldn't take much more. On Saturday, March 13th, we endured one Hell of a rain storm. Winds originated out of Oz and the rain pelted down. Trees released their roots from the ground... almost as if they were trying to move to higher ground. Well, we all know that trees can't walk, so those trees fell flat on their faces! As they fell, they stretched their branches out and tried to grab onto anything they could... and anything usually ended up being houses and powerlines.

"Do you know the origin of the weather proverb about March, "in like a lion, out like a lamb"? For most locations, the average temperature at the end of the month is higher than at the beginning, so the proverb typically has some meteorological truth to it, but where did it come from?

The phrase apparently has its origins with the constellations Leo, the Lion, and Aries, the ram or lamb. It has to do with the relative positions of these constellations in the sky at the beginning and end of the month. But don't take my word for it, check out this illustrative cartoon from the Stargazer himself, Jack Horkheimer."
Posted by Bob Swanson at 04:37 PM/ET, February 28, 2006 Permalink

Yup... once again, related to the stars. And that weather we had on the 13th, was in many ways, the perfect storm. Monday the 15th, was the Ides of March. It also coincided with a new moon (which can be just as powerful as the full moon). The storm blew in and before we knew it, nothing but a huge mess was left in its wake. We're all chomping at the bit for warm weather. Perhaps one of the consolations that we have is the fact that March goes out like a lamb, and since were already approaching March 24th, the lamb is right around the corner. It's officially Spring and lamb like days are going to be around more often.

Until then... I've got my eyes turned to the sky... looking straight ahead, with Aries on the horizon, soon I'll be marching into April!