Welcome Spring!

Spring has arrived. On my morning walk I spied snowdrops, the first flower after a long winter in my neck of the woods. Soon the trees will bud, the grass will green, the air will smell of new growth.

As with many things, there is the art and the science of spring. The beauty we see. The behind the scenes nuts and bolts that make it happen.

The Science of Spring

The science first. The spring or vernal equinox. Guesses? I love sharing facts like this (sometimes I’m the educator, sometimes I’m the one being educated). Has to do with the earth’s relationship to the sun. At the equinox (there are two of them), the earth is pretty much straight up and down for a hot minute. At the vernal equinox, the sun is moving into our half of the world (for my part of the world that means northward).

The Art of Spring

Now the art. Take your pick. There is so much to experience. A walk in nature. A painting at the museum or an online version that you might save to your home screen. I am energized by Monet and Jonathan Green. A symphony or song. Yesterday I listened to Vivaldi’s “Spring.” A dance. The Rite of Spring choreographed by the great Nijinsky.

A Spring Poem

I leave you with an excerpt of a poem “Spring” by William Blake.

Sound the flute!
Now it’s mute!
Bird’s delight,
Day and night,
Nightingale,
In the dale,
Lark in sky,–
Merrily,
Merrily merrily, to welcome in the year.

Little boy,
Full of joy;
Little girl,
Sweet and small;
Cock does crow,
So do you;
Merry voice,
Infant noise;
Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

Share your favorite rites of Spring