Spring has sprung.
Last Friday marked the official arrival of spring.
And while Old Man Winter was kind to us here on the West Coast – my condolences to the rest of the country – it’s always nice to bid adieu to the dark days of winter.
Temperatures have already been hovering around the mid-teens for the past month or so but springtime also marks the start of extended daylight hours and the arrival of all the pretty flowers.
The daffodils already bloomed about three weeks ago at our house but I’m still eagerly awaiting some of the tulips which look like they’ll pop open any day now.
Most of the Japanese cherry blossom trees around town are already in full bloom, and some downtown were already showing signs of life back in February.
But while signs of spring have been all around us for a while now, the official passing of spring, otherwise known as the Vernal Equinox, is a promise of longer, and brighter days to come.
It’s the time to get out and take advantage of all that our beautiful city has to offer – whether it be a hike along the Ripple Rock trail, a bike ride down the Sea Walk or a picnic at Robert Ostler Park.
Spring is also known as a time of renewal, hope and promise.
Spring cleaning, both figuratively and literally, helps us de-clutter, re-prioritize, and start over fresh.
Some theories trace the practise of spring cleaning back to the Persian New Year which coincides with the first day of spring and celebrates the rebirth of nature by doing away with the old and bringing in the new.
For me, spring means getting back into my routine morning runs, shaking off the winter blahs and the laziness that comes with limited daylight hours and the temptation to immediately change into pajamas after coming home from work, because really, there’s not a whole lot to do in the winter evenings other than sit on the couch and stare at the TV.
The arrival of spring also means Easter is not far behind and who can argue with a long weekend?
Easter also brings chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate and again – who can argue with a good thing?
Spring also means it’s safe to open your windows again without risk of freezing and breathing in the fresh air tinged with the smell of freshly cut grass, flowers and rain.
Yes, rain. And in these parts, lots of it.
The first day of spring in fact brought a rainfall warning to the East Coast, calling for up to 50 mm of rain.
Spring brings a pattern of unpredictable weather, especially here on the Wet Coast.
It’s not uncommon to start the day off in a T-shirt and capris and by afternoon you reluctantly have to put on a sweater and long pants.
But I’ll take that over what the eastern half of the country has been having to put up with.
As much as I enjoy snow, having the fluffy white stuff lingering into late March and even April has got to wear thin.
A headline on CTV on the first day of spring read, ‘Cleanup underway after blizzard buries parts of Atlantic Canada’.
Can you imagine?
More than 50 centimetres of snow fell on Halifax last week and the government even considered issuing a state of emergency.
That came on the heels of a 40 centimetre dump across most of Nova Scotia few days prior.
So as much as I complain about all of the rain that falls here, I think I’ll be counting my blessings and reminding myself how good we have it here.
At least I’m not hearing the words ‘digging out’ at the end of March like they were in Atlantic Canada.