We've just left behind an exceptionally rainy winter. It had been thirty years since we'd had such a wet winter, and it even ranks among the four wettest winters on record. This situation has filled reservoirs to capacity – the inland basins are at 92% – and saturated forests and rivers across the country. After this historic period, the astronomical spring is now upon us. The spring equinox will occur this Friday at 3:46 PM. We must remember that this is one of the rainiest seasons of the year in our country. Therefore, the question arises: after the abundant rainfall during the winter, will it continue to rain so much this spring?

Tomorrow, March begins. This means that today is the last day of February, the shortest month of the year. March has a bad reputation, surely because of that famous saying that goes, "March, March, takes the old woman to the edge of the fire, and the young woman if she can." As Josep Pla said, these sayings are only true if they don't rhyme. And this saying does rhyme. Therefore, according to Pla's theory, the saying is false. And it's obvious, because it also takes the old man and the young woman. We'll see what this March, which begins tomorrow, will do. We don't know if it will take more old women than old men or more young women than young men. February has passed, from storm to storm, each one bearing its name, as it goes. They have caused floods, gales, and accidents in general. A turbulent disruption of "the sublime monotony of one day after another," as Carles Riba wrote. Roads cut off, schools closed, flights canceled… In my town, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, they suspended the carnival parade because it was raining. But the locals couldn't resign themselves to not celebrating Carnival, so they moved it to the following Friday, without considering that the following Friday was the first Friday of Lent, and that street parties and Lent were two incompatible things. But now, who even knows what Lent is? On the other hand, everyone knows what Ramadan is. Perhaps because poor Lamine Yamal has to run fasting and exhausted on whatever grass he can find. Oh well! That said, the mimosas are now in full bloom, sprinkling perfume into the air of late February, offering the golden blossoms of their soft leaves to the eyes of those of us who, hopeful, are preparing to cross March, March, without too many complications.

With the start of the year, whether or not it's tied to the classic list of resolutions, we face the difficult decision, especially if we're travelers, of choosing our next destination. Ultimately, vacation days are limited, and the desire to travel and discover the world often outweighs them. That's why good planning is key to making the most of your time off. Eurovacations TravelThe agency, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, already has this year's offerings on its website. Their meticulously organized group tours with guides departing from Barcelona will allow you to enjoy unique experiences.

March brought extraordinary rainfall to much of Catalonia, finally ending the historic drought that had dragged on for more than three years. This precipitation, which in the high altitudes of the Pyrenees fell in the form of snow, accumulated to such significant depths that it hadn't seen for some time. Beyond ensuring an excellent end to the season at the ski resorts, this snowfall makes the Pyrenees look truly white and is a great reserve for the thaw that is already underway.

"Is Costa doing it and Real Madrid?"They ask us in a store where they have Lamine Yamal shirts, but from the Spanish national team."Madrid has perso", We replied, happy to be able to fulfill our mission of information punctually. We've arrived in April, and Barça is still experiencing this period of playful promise, when nothing has happened yet, but you can still see that anything is possible, in their game and in their hunger.

Spring is like a bottle of champagne about to be uncorked. Suddenly, winter releases the cork, and joy bursts forth like bubbles of light and color. Flowers unfurl like tiny confetti explosions that splatter the landscape with color, rivers flow joyfully as if trying to fill their glasses for a toast, and the air is filled with a new effervescence. Everything vibrates, everything reneix, as if nature aixequés the cup and in you say: "Celebrem-ho!" colossal ruixades. In Thailand, the Songkran turns the races into an epic water battle; in Japan, the Hanami invites you to admire the cirerers in bloom with its ephemeral works of art; in Scotland, the Beltane night lights fires to celebrate the rebirth of the light, while in Zurich, he Sechseläuten cream un ninot de neu per acomiadar, oficially, l'hivern.

March ends, and April begins on Tuesday, the Tuesday of the Thousand Rains, as the Castilians say, although the rains have already fallen in March. April is a somewhat hectic month because it usually includes Holy Week, with all that this entails in terms of tradition and memory. And for Catalans, the days of Sant Jordi and the Moreneta, the patron saints. Sant Jordi, with its commercial and floral bustle, books and roses, and the Moreneta, which Father Cinto called the rose of April. This year, Holy Week comes late, so the patron saints of Catalonia arrive right away, once the liturgical celebrations of Christ's Passion and Resurrection have already passed. A group of days outside the current. Since the weather is as changeable as the entire world, we don't know whether it will rain or not on Sant Jordi, whether the uncertain Shakespearean glory will produce a sunny or rainy day. It already happened a few years ago, when a violent downpour flooded stalls, books, writers, and publishers. And I got soaked as a duck. We don't know anything. But it doesn't matter to him. The fact that Catalonia has a soaked Sant Jordi shouldn't in any way mar the celebration, because the celebration is within. Well, don't think I'm a fan of the day, and even less so in recent years, when it has been overly commercialized. Half a century ago, when I was thirty, it was a holiday that could have excited me, but not anymore. Literature has practically disappeared, and we've moved on to self-help books and inconsistent novels.

Saturday, March 22, 2025. At 5:30 a.m., the blurred night clouds, a spectral whiteness due to the reflection of the urban light, reveal a half-moon that, by contrast, appears yellow. The dense silence of dawn, their moist breath, the sensation of suspension in time. It's cold. I thought I made out the pair of bats patrolling their airspace, the one above my gardens, but I'm not sure. Perhaps they've already finished hibernating, or perhaps I've been mistaken. I don't know. They normally make regular circles, although their flight is clumsy and erratic (nothing like the elegance and aerodynamic precision of swifts). I don't know where they take refuge during the day. They often pass within a meter and a half of the gallery windows, making no sound. It's only natural that these animals have ended up giving rise to so many gruesome stories. I'd like to know if they see me, if I'm part of their landscape, or if they're just watching the insects near the streetlights. Their world is strange, upside down.

Pollen allergy sufferers should be on alert this spring, especially for children between the ages of 5 and 15 and adults between the ages of 35 and 40. After a winter with above-average pollination rates, the rainfall of recent weeks, and the forecast for a spring with heavy downpours, experts predict significant and prolonged peaks that threaten allergy sufferers this season. "Even people who don't normally suffer from allergies will have to be vigilant. When severe episodes like these occur, new adverse reactions to pollen can be triggered," warns the coordinator of the Aerobiological Network of Catalonia (XAC) and researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Barcelona).