On March 20, 2006, at precisely 1:26 P.M. EST, the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. (I copied this from a website. I think they mean that the earth's equator passes directly in front of the sun. Actually, I have no idea what they mean. Whatever. The important point is that we will be halfway there.) This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is the moment of the autumnal equinox.
All I can say is, thank GOD (literally) we do not live in the southern hemisphere.
I can barely imagine making it for nine more days.
In the meantime, the red-winged blackbirds are calling in the marsh, the red-bellied and downy woodpeckers are flitting among the tress and pounding their little heads silly, and four pairs of hooded mergs appeared on one of the small lakes this morning.
YES! HERE THEY COME!
7 comments:
ahhh... it has been a wonderful winter and I am ready for Spring and new life.
A few warm days here and I was inspired to clean today.... and if you know me, you know that is not usually one of my skill sets. I am grateful the winter was not too hard to get through this year. The only bonus for me with winter is having a fire in our fire place.
I bought white sneakers today... for me the symbol of warm weather and playing outside. Some parts of me never grow up. I love the way spring makes me feel - like everything again is possible.
Peace, Virginia
Gosh, I wish I could say I'm looking forward to the equinox, but it just means I'm that much closer to hurricane season!
Beautiful pic, and I can hardly wait for spring, too. Of course, I'm spoiled by the warm weather here in Texas, but I like it to be "officially" spring...that time "when faces called flowers push out of the ground", as cummings said so well.
Judi
Even though our weather here has reverted back to the depths of winter (the only way you can tell it's spring is that it stays light longer...) we have been enjoying walking on the dike along Multnomah Channel. The other day, I saw a pileated woodpecker. Then, on Friday, we saw not one, but two bald eagles in our wanderings. The harbinger of spring in the western valleys is the turkey buzzard :) And I have seen a few, but not as many as usual by this time of year. Maybe they know something we don't..
And Spring has appeared here with an all too early show of woodpeckers, forsythia, daffodils, and even my star magnolias. My Korean lilac, which usually doesn't bloom until mid-April, is ready to pop within the next 10 days, dogwoods appear to be about 2 weeks away. It's all far too early yet I'm not complaining about the abundant signs of rebirth and the return of light.
The hemisphere thing is relative; they are finishing up a beautiful summer. The winter solstice is the turn to more light but the vernal equinox is the fastest increase of light - I'm not sure which is my favorite.
At the vernal equinox, the earth is at the point in its orbit where the earth's axis of rotation is perpendicular to a direct line to the sun. The earth is doing the passing -- the sun, relative to the motion of the earth, pretty much stays in one place.
Beautiful picture!
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