Spring?

The low winter's Sun

December 20, 2013.  The Winter Solstice.  The northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, the sunlight comes in at a low angle, and in Connecticut we get only 9 hours and 8 minutes of light.

What we expect to see on March 20

March 20, 2014.  The Spring Equinox.  The hemispheres get an equal amount of daylight as the Sun shines directly done on the Equator at noon.  We have gained 3 hours of daylight since December.

June 20, 2014.  The Summer Solstice.  The northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and we have gained another 3 hours of light.  Then the light recedes.

So on March 20, we are halfway between the shortest and the longest day in Connecticut.  

The talking heads on television and radio will be screaming about the first day of Spring.  You already know what I think of that.

Mr. Opossum is looking for love

Spring is a season, not an astronomical event.  Seasons depend on weather and the response of living things to the changing amount of light.

It is halfway between December and March that the amount of daylight increases enough for nature to take notice - that's February 2.

That is when maple sap runs, the skunks and

Who can pay attention to traffic 

when you are in love?

woodchucks wake up to mate, the hawks make their nests, and things start stirring underground.  The birds that live here all year have been singing for almost a month and the first of the migrants appeared a week ago.

So, despite being buried in snow during an extremely cold spring, it is the middle of spring now, not winter, and March 20 marks the middle of the season.  Only 6 more weeks until things start to bloom all over, marking the beginning of nature's summer.