The sky is blue. The sun is shining. I am feeling a bit tipsy with this warm weather which seems to have arrived earlier than usual. Climate change? Random good luck? I can’t really say for certain, but I do know that I am enjoying it.
This illustration is from an March 14, 2024 article by Catherine Boeckmann, editor of Almanac.com and all things digital for The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, in 2024, the March equinox happens on March 19 at 11:06 P.M. EDT. But the first day of Spring is not always on March 19th. The first day of Spring can vary—March 19, 20 and 21 are all possibilities—based on the year and the position of the sun.
This year, the official first day of Spring will be Tuesday, March 19. That is the moment when the sun is positioned directly above the Earth’s equator. When the sun crosses the equator from south to north, more light and more warmth arrive for us here in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas the Southern Hemisphere will get the larger portion of darkness and cold.
In my early morning times of gazing out our window over to the mountains, I notice birds returning to sit on the very top branches of the gingko tree. I always love it when a cardinal makes its perch on the top branch; its brilliant red feathers accent the still brown branches so stunningly. This always makes me think that Spring has truly arrived. I do know that more sunlight makes birds sing more.
Someone told me that for them the first day of Spring is the starting date of the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament. I would never argue with an ACC fan, especially one cheering for Carolina.
Another friend said that when she starts pulling poetry books, especially ones by Mary Oliver, off her bookshelf, she knows that the seasons are shifting and spring is being declared.
I heard someone declare that she knows that Spring has arrived, when they start to get really super serious about making their final choices from the seed catalogs that have been stuffing their mailbox for the past few months. Time—or maybe even past time—to send in the order for their garden seeds.
I like watching to see when sweatpants and blue jeans give way to shorts; when boots get relegated to the back of the closet and sandals and Crocs without socks take their place.
It has been so sunny and lovely and warm recently that I don’t want to imagine that we still might get a snowstorm or need to put the extra quilt back on the bed. Spring is such a hopeful season.
If you want a good read to walk you through the seasons I highly recommend Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year with the breathtaking color illustrations by Billy Renkl. Ann Patchett wasn’t exaggerating when she called this book “a howling love letter to the world”. You could read it from beginning to end or skip over the chapters on winter and dive right to Spring.
Robin Williams once declared, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” That is easy to imagine when you see the fields of dandelions dancing in the wind and the birdsongs getting louder and louder each morning.
I think my favorite mantra is what Lilly Pulitzer said: Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.
Live like it’s spring. I love that advice.
How are you living into Spring? What heralds in this lovely, hopeful season for you?
Spring is here when I can open the back door and sit in my rocking chair on the back porch and read or play with Mokie the cat. She climbs up into Dwayne's rocker and stays there until he dumps her off. From the back porch I can gaze across the valley past the flowering bushes and trees and see the green leaves emerge from their long hibernation.
I love wearing shorts and my Crocs without socks. I love the intense colors of spring as plants and flowers and trees start to show off their buds and flowers. I love a short drive into the country to see farmers turning over the soil to prepare for the coming season. I do love all the seasons but especially Spring I think!