Marching into the bronze medal spot among month rankings

The old proverb says March comes "in like a lion, out like a lamb," which suggests it's an interesting month. It is. There's a lot happening in March. There's wild weather, significant sports events and one of our last remaining ethnic-focused holidays.

Yet March ranks third out of the months – in quality, as well as where it falls on our calendar.

My mildly scientific, extremely subjective ranking of our 12 months lists the third month in the bronze medal position among its cohort. How? Well, based on weather, attitude, sports and culture, here are the months, ranked from last to first. I don't hate any month. I just like some months more.

12. January: It starts with a bang as New Year's Day ends the "holiday season." January includes most of the college football and NFL playoff games and network TV series (remember them?) restart. But it's dark and cold and long and dark and cold and long and . . . the 31 days of January take about three months.

11. February: The shortest month, thank goodness. There are some good things – the Super Bowl, the Grammys, Valentine's Day (questionable whether it's good), Presidents' Day. But after enduring January, the dreary February days are a test of patience. There's a glimpse of spring, but it's still far off.

10. November: The end of daylight-saving time, the beginning of rainy days and cold mornings. The NBA season gets in full swing, although most people are watching football. The highlight? Thanksgiving is in November and it's arguably our best holiday. But there's definitely a sense of foreboding. Winter is coming.

9. December: It's the holiday month, which rescues it from the bottom three. However, the weather and the length of time until spring brings it down. Winter doesn't officially begin until Dec. 21, but the whole month feels wintery, with intermittent holiday cheer. December is fun with a sense of pending January.

8. August: Summer starts to drag out a bit. You're two months into hot weather (which is fine by me, but I understand if you don't like it) and still nowhere near autumn. School starts and the last half of the month is a weird mix of summer with kids going to school. And NFL training camps are rolling, a further hint that fall is coming. Eventually.

7. April: After March provides a hint of spring, April is often a month in purgatory, waiting for the promised nice weather. However, it really is getting warmer, the is more daylight and it's usually the month of Easter.

6. October: Early in the month feels like summer and the end is Halloween, with cold weather and possible rain. This is the transition month, moving from warmth and light to cold and darkness. But the darkness is not here yet, so it holds up.

5. September: Mrs. Brad and I have a longstanding joke that people say, "you know, the best weather of the year here is in September and October," as if that's unique to their location. That's true everywhere. September is a great mix of heat waves and cooling nights. It's baseball pennant races, the start of the football season, the launch of fall TV (remember network TV?).

4. July: Midsummer. The Fourth of July and fireworks. The Fairfield parade. Waterfront in Suisun City. This is the month you go camping or go to a baseball game or take a vacation. It's also a month that might have a few 100-plus-degree days. If you're a kid, it's a full month off school.

3. March: The first hint of life returning. A few sunny days and the calendar tells us April . . . and May! . . . are coming! Baseball spring training is in full swing, a further suggestion of nice weather. College basketball's March Madness makes it fun. And . . . daylight-saving time returns. A really solid month.

2. May: A month of anticipation. School is almost out. Summer is almost here. The weather is almost great. If May were a condiment, it would be thick catsup: A wait that you're confident is worth it, but one that takes a long time.

1. June: School's out, the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final (weird that the NBA puts an "s" at the end of final and the NHL doesn't) are held, baseball is in full swing. The weather is warmer, but usually not super hot yet. It has the day with the most daylight of the year!

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.