Today I received this lovely picture from a friend in Boston. The said friend is my go-to expert on all things nature, especially on the names of plants and flowers (through her I discovered that most of the flowers that I thought of as roses, well, they aren't roses at all).
The picture was such a study of springtime: oddly appropriate for the day that is in it. Today is St. Brigid's Day (Lá Fhéile Bhríde), which marks the start of spring in Ireland (we don't hold with waiting until mid-March to declare winter over, that's a thoroughly depressing idea).
Whether this is astronomically correct or not is beside the point for me: it is a psychological thing. The idea that winter is over is usually such a welcome thought. Spring in Boston didn't start until the Spring / Vernal Equinox around the 20/21 March each year (even in May the temperature would drop below freezing at night!). Very few people believed me when I said that February is considered spring in Ireland, and not winter. Ah, if only they had grown up hearing about, and seeing, the grand stretch in the evening, they'd be converted to spring arriving in February. Life always seems brighter once spring arrives!
The picture was such a study of springtime: oddly appropriate for the day that is in it. Today is St. Brigid's Day (Lá Fhéile Bhríde), which marks the start of spring in Ireland (we don't hold with waiting until mid-March to declare winter over, that's a thoroughly depressing idea).
Whether this is astronomically correct or not is beside the point for me: it is a psychological thing. The idea that winter is over is usually such a welcome thought. Spring in Boston didn't start until the Spring / Vernal Equinox around the 20/21 March each year (even in May the temperature would drop below freezing at night!). Very few people believed me when I said that February is considered spring in Ireland, and not winter. Ah, if only they had grown up hearing about, and seeing, the grand stretch in the evening, they'd be converted to spring arriving in February. Life always seems brighter once spring arrives!
No comments:
Post a Comment