This year Spring officially begins a week from tomorrow, on March 19th.
The Almighty Google tells me that it always begins on March 19th, 20th or 21st but because this is a Leap Year, February got an extra day and the Vernal Equinox comes a little early on the calendar.
Of course for people in the Southern Hemisphere, i.e. south of the Equator, this date marks the beginning of Autumn.
As we took a short drive today we saw signs that nature and people were rushing the season a bit.
Judy said "The trees are budding."
When I reminded her that she said not to plant flowers and herbs until after her mid-May birthday, she replied "That's for tender plants. The trees know what they're doing."
We saw people out in their yards, raking up old leaves and at least one yard had a flower box with fresh plantings.
But the most certain indication that Spring is on the way was at our nearby Urban Lakes Park.
The town had drained one of the two lakes to seal and repair leaks in the dam.
But it's all filled again as we found on our drive around town.
Way off on the far side you might be able to see a man standing at the water's edge.
He's a fisherman trying his luck.
But on our side of the lake, the water was teeming with ducks and geese.
They seemed happy to have their playground back.
And it appeared Spring had produced thoughts of romance to many of the creatures as they chased each other around their corner of the lake.
Spring is a time of year for growth, it is said, and perhaps too for starting a fresh family!
