March is the month that surprises people who have not wintered here. The storm rolls in wet and heavy, pinning the daffodils and loading every branch, and a foot of it weighs what three feet of January powder never did. Snowcat Inc plows through that dense, sodden snow, pushing hard against the Colorado Springs slush that turns to concrete the moment the sun goes behind the mountain. Drives are opened wide, walks are cut down to the surface, and the shaded corners are treated before the overnight freeze locks them. Then the melt takes over, the gutters run for two days, and the yard remembers it was nearly spring.