Into the Great Outdoors: March Perspective

By Erin Marteal

It was this time 18 years ago that my husband and I made our first journey to Ithaca, with the aim of vetting it as a place to raise our new family. Having both grown up in the metropolitan Northern Virginia area and with the arrival of our first child, our ideals for what we wanted became crystallized almost overnight. We knew that the frenetic pace, long commutes and cost of living of Northern Virginia was not it.

What we found in Ithaca was a humble size that could still offer culture, good food, walkability, and affordable housing (yes, compared to D.C. it was very affordable). We found welcoming people, thin phone books and short lines at the DMV. And perhaps most compelling, we found remarkable access to nature within arms reach of the city: Farms. Gorges. Trails. Ancient bogs. Even old growth forests.
The whole city seemed to be designed for young families seeking a slower pace and higher quality of life in the outdoors. We were in heaven!
After five years of living the Ithaca dream, I woke up one March day with extreme wanderlust, aching to be somewhere else. We started investigating other cities and places to live, and within a month or so, the desperation subsided. It was only after this pattern repeated for several more years that I identified what was happening. It turns out, March in Ithaca is nothing like March in Virginia. In Virginia, March means green shoots, sunshine, birds chirping and buds breaking. March in Ithaca, however, was crushing my soul.
Ithaca March is neither winter nor spring, but some purgatory in between. I remember the first sunny day following a particularly brutal winter in March 2000, I went running around outside in shorts. It was 30 degrees, but after weeks of single digits and biting winds it might as well have been summer. Gratitude overwhelmed me and realized I had never fully appreciated the gift of spring awakening until I had been dealt a grueling winter. Those warm sun rays lifted my winter-induced dormancy, and my vitality – which had been retreating quietly – returned. I felt as if a plastic bag I hadn’t known was there was lifted from my head and I could see color again.
Then, as quickly as that warm day touched down, it vanished. I kept company with every shade of gray until spring did finally arrive in earnest some weeks later. In the years since, I have made some deals with myself, my family, and with March for sanity, health, and my ability to continue residing in Ithaca through what many describe as the most difficult month of the year. These deals involve consciously shifting perspective through action:
1) Get away. One of the easiest ways to shift perspective is to get away, even if it’s temporary and brief. I know this is not possible for everyone and it was not always an option for us, however every winter since 2009 we have prioritized going somewhere the sun shines and where color is abundant to contrast the relentless grays of Ithaca. We make other compromises through the year to make this possible. Not only does it help infuse our bodies with Vitamin D, but it helps spring arrive in Ithaca more quickly, especially if we get away in late winter.
2) Get outside and enjoy the elements whenever possible. Often the weather looks more foreboding from the coziness of our couch than it actually is, but this is impossible to see from indoors. You have to get out there and feel it for yourself. (Gently used wares from quality second-hand stores like Mama Goose can help you clothe your kids for all conditions without breaking the bank.)

3) Embrace the gray. One scavenger hunt we do at Ithaca Children’s Garden – “Our colorful world” – can be easily adapted for anyone, anywhere, as a fun way to getting your family outside with simple free materials and minimum prep. Paint the bottom of each pocket of an egg carton with a different color and turn the kids loose to collect an item found in nature that corresponds to each color in the carton. This game can be adapted for March by painting all the egg pockets with various shades of gray and brown. For an extra challenge, include a deep red that can be satisfied with found berries.
Another variation on this activity, for reading ages, is writing pairs of opposite adjectives on the bottoms of egg cartons. For example, one egg carton might have “rough” and “smooth” written on the bottom. Another might have “shiny” and “dull.” Each person goes out to collect items matching each word, filling one row with items described by one of the adjectives, and the other row with items described by its opposite. Each player returns and challenges others to guess what the words are based on what has been collected. Use paint samples in place of paint for an even easier version.
4) Look for color in everyday places. Whether it’s in the fridge or in the blooms of forsythia you have forced indoors, take the time to see, taste, smell and breathe in the color that surrounds you if you open your senses and allow yourself the time and space to notice.
Spring really will be here soon!
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Erin Marteal has served Ithaca Children’s Garden as its executive director since 2011. She can be reached at erin@ithacachildrensgarden.org.