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Time to embrace all things spring

Spring has sprung and, with it, a return to all the great things to do that come with it. You know; spring cleaning, yard work, all the stuff in the “to-do” jar that didn’t get done last year . . .

Spring has sprung and, with it, a return to all the great things to do that come with it.

You know; spring cleaning, yard work, all the stuff in the “to-do” jar that didn’t get done last year . . .

But, seriously, with the calendar officially announcing spring at 10:55 p.m. March 19, we made it through another winter.

While this past winter wasn’t a tough one (thanks, El Nino), we should be through the worst of it with plenty of warm, sunny days ahead.

With the spring sunshine come some interesting, if not trifling, observations. But it’s spring, so lighten up.

Did you know that:

– While the term “spring” is useful to describe one of the four conventional temperate seasons, in subtropical and tropical climates other terms are used to describe varying seasonal changes, such as dry or wet and monsoonal or cyclonic.

– Holidays and celebrations occurring in spring include Easter, Passover, April Fool’s Day, Earth Day, Arbor Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Cinco De Mayo, and Holi (festival of colors in India).

– Honeybees are more likely to swarm during the spring. They swarm as a way to start new colonies from successful ones. Surprisingly, swarming honeybees are supposedly very docile.

– Every year on the first day of spring, people in Poland gather to burn an effigy and throw it in the river to bid winter farewell.

– While some people prefer not to feed birds in spring and summer, during the spring migration a feeder might be a useful source of food for travelling birds.

– Children actually grow faster in the spring than during other times of the year.

– The term “spring fever” refers to both psychological and physiological symptoms associated with the arrival of spring, including restlessness, daydreaming, and a heightened sense of amoré. While the exact cause is unclear, scientists believe that increased light, more exercise, and more bare skin influence hormone levels.

– According to Greek myth, the return of spring coincides with the return of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, who is the goddess of plants and fertility.

– While the spring equinox typically occurs on March 20 or 21, meteorological spring beings on March 1, a month when average temperatures increase by 10 degrees over the month.

– The early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising sun on the spring equinox.

– Spring almost always arrives on March 20 or 21, but sometimes on the 19th. The reason the equinoxes and solstices don’t always come on the same day is that Earth doesn’t circle the sun in exactly 365 days.

Closer to home, spring signifies success in the form of playoff hockey.

Both the Cochrane Generals and Airdrie-Cochrane (AC) Avalanche have stretched their campaigns into spring with lengthy playoff runs.

Bonus: we get to watch our fellow Canadians on the East Coast shovel out from under yet another epic snow storm.

Ahhh, spring in the Rockies. There’s nothing quite like it.




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