SPRING AH, SPRING

Spring begins today in the Northern Hemisphere, March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M.(EDT)

The Vernal Equinox

Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of the flowers.

The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” The spring and fall equinoxes are the only dates with equal daylight and dark as the Sun crosses the celestial equator. At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)

Signs of Spring

Spring is also the time when worms begin to emerge from the earth, ladybugs land on screen doors, green buds appear, birds chirp, and flowers begin to bloom. The vernal, or spring, equinox signals the beginning of nature’s renewal in the Northern Hemisphere.

I welcome the warmer temperatures that we've been having, look forward to seeing all the flowers in bloom, and I'm very happy SPRING HAS FINALLY SPRUNG!