March 1: Baba Marta, bearded oak, frothy blossoms

I always feel like March 1 should be the first day of Spring. In Bulgaria they celebrate Baba Marta, "Grandmother March," to welcome Spring, and that works for me too.

The huge white oak I pass on campus every day -- the one that's lovely and round at the top from every angle except where it was amputated to make way for power lines -- is all bare except for a fringe of intact brown, dead leaves around the bottom branches. It's like a bald man with a handsome beard. :)

In contrast, the pear trees are fully dressed in frothy white.