February or Feb-u-ary

I never quite understood the spelling of the name of the month February.  Most folks tend to pronounce it as if it were spelled Feb-u-ary and leave out the first 'R'.  Once my teacher corrected my spelling I don't recall getting it wrong since.

I think February is truly a neat month.  It exposes the best of snowy winter and sunny spring.  Come mid-February the daylight hours have been lengthening for the past 8 weeks and average daily high temperature has started to rise from from winter's lows.

Another aspect of the increased daylight hours is that the sun rises a bit higher in the sky each day and warms the earth a bit more.  February is a dichotomy of snow and spring at the same time.  Before we know it, we'll have one of those sunny 70 degree days here in the BToS.  When I was younger I recall taking advantage of strong sunny February days to break out the ol' motorcycle and rumble around the area.

Then about the time I get used to the strong sun, the season's biggest snow storm rolls through the area.  Even when Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter it doesn't mean much.  Sun's stronger each day and winds of March are just around the corner.

Given the closeness of spring, I think February might just be the best of the winter months...strong sunshine can affect people in a most positive way after an overbearing January.

JD, waitin' for a sunny 70 degree February day here in the BToS in Central Maryland.

PS - I'll bet you're wondering why I wasted my time writing a blog post that in reality says nothing at all.  Well, it's just where my old mind is at 8 in the morning this February day with no sun yet.