The Vernal Equinox

This blog post is another encore from March 2012.

It was originally published under the title "Emerging Spring."

For many years, winter days in the Shire have been mild.

I recall some years where I didn't have to wear a winter coat at all.

But it seems February and March 2013 have brought us one icy cold day after another.

 I'm longing for warm spring days.

I hope the "magic" hour of the Vernal Equinox arrives soon.

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At its most specific, spring arrives at the Vernal Equinox,

the date when the earth is in equal measures of dark and light.

This year that moment here in the Shire is to be

March 20th at 1:14 in the morning.

[ This spring 2013, the Vernal Equinox will arrive 

precisely on March 20th, at 7:02 EDT. 

In 2012, it presented itself at 1:14 a.m.,

by comparison, that makes this  year's a "later" spring.]

Even so, what we all know with surety is

that spring is not met under the strike of a clock,

but emerges in the imperceptible unfolding of nature around us.

One day we are closed in our houses looking for ways to stay warm.

The next day the sun warms the earth and our spirits.

And soon ...

the leaves of spring bulbs push up through the ground.

Tiny scarlet leaves appear like blossoms on trees.

 The sword-shaped leaves of iris arrive.

The faint green of new life appears at the roots of marsh grass.

Tender violets rise.

Pine seeds cluster, readying themselves for their impending drop.

Everywhere one looks, spring unfolds in advance of its appointed hour.

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