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“March bustles in on windy feet and sweeps my doorstep and my street.”
― Susan Reiner
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It is strange to be welcoming March and Spring from Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai has three main seasons: a cool, dry season (Nov–Feb) perfect for tourism; a hot season (March–May) with high temperatures and air pollution; and a rainy “green” season (June–Oct).
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
When I lived in the States in Arkansas, March meant a long-awaited Spring. It could snow up to and including my birthday on the 9th, but then a glorious time of warmer weather followed with my itchiness to plant new flowers in my planters to go with the perennial ones, and getting my raised-bed, square foot garden started.
Taipei Times
March here in Chiang Mai starts a season of HOT and accompanying air pollution from Thailand and surrounding countries burning crop residue in preparation for planting. The sun becomes very intense and a lot of people use an umbrella to avoid sunburn, which you can get pretty quickly this time of year. When Brian and I are out walking, we take care to stay in the shade as much as possible.
I check the Chiang Mail Air Pollution Real-Time website daily now to monitor air before opening my windows.
Right now, before the season gets in full swing, I’m enjoying having my windows open, a beautiful cool breeze coming through with bright sunshine. It’s 78 degrees F. as I type, and it’s supposed to get to 91 this afternoon. When it starts to warm up significantly, I’ll close up, turn my air filters back on, and probably start the a/c.
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FirstCry
I have just started painting one of my sketches this morning. It’s celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It will go up on the “Happy Wall” in my husband’s room in the nursing home at the proper time. I’ll post a picture of it, probably tomorrow, and then the painting will go on my shelf under some books to flatten it until it’s time to take it.
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Have a wonderful start to a new month!
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens
creativeartworksblog 
What a beautiful, reflective piece you’ve shared. The contrast between the Marches you’ve known—Arkansas’s fickle dance between winter’s last gasp and spring’s eager arrival, and Chiang Mai’s intense shift into heat and haze—is so vividly drawn.
I love how you’re honoring both places: remembering the gardening itch and the hopeful snow on your birthday, while also grounding yourself so practically in your current reality with the air quality monitors and the careful morning walks in the shade. That’s the heart of it, isn’t it? Carrying your history with you while tending to the present moment with such gentle awareness.
And the painting for your husband’s “Happy Wall”—what a sweet and intentional act. A bit of St. Patrick’s Day cheer to hang alongside the perennials of his room. There’s something quietly profound about creating something, flattening it under books, and knowing exactly when and where it will bloom.
The Dickens quote is perfect. “Summer in the light, and winter in the shade”—that captures so much. Here’s to a March that holds both, whatever shape they take.
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You are so good at writing, Srikanth. You take my breath away. Thank you for your kind comments. Thank you for ‘getting’ what I was trying to do and say. One of the many perks about becoming ‘older than dirt’ is that you have a lot of memories to carry that make new experiences even richer. I hope that my husband will like the new addition to his wall. Each visit is different, so no expectations anymore. Thank you again for writing. You made my day.
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