Tuesday, March 30, 2010


Every year I’m always searching for the first signs of spring. The weatherman is not always a good forecaster of spring and is frequently wrong. The appearance of Robins in the yard is an indicator, but frost commonly occurs after they have made their appearance. The blooming of fruit tress can be very misleading and they are always jumping the gun and getting zapped by a late frost. Wildflowers, like the bluebonnet, are a pretty good judge but they can be wrong.

This coming Sunday is Easter and most believe this day is officially spring. Easter is a religious holiday that varies each year and is determined by the lunar calendar. It occurs on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox is on March 21st. So, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21. That means it can be on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Easter doesn’t mean that it is the end of winter and the end of freezes. To me, winter ends with the last freeze.

So, what is a good indicator of spring and the official end of winter. The absolute most reliable indicator is the budding of the pecan and mesquite trees. Today, I noticed the pecan in my backyard is budding; so, you can count on it, winter is over. Spring is officially here. Salado and points south will have no more freezes.

We will have a few more cool days and a lot of wind and thunderstorms but it’s almost time for me to move to my open front porch. It will require some washing away of the yellow oak pollen and the trash blown up by the wind but it will become my fortress of solitude until the baking sun of summer drives me back inside. That porch is a beautiful place and reminds me of what heaven might be. The porch may even be a little better than heaven because there are no Muslims with their virgins, and none of my snooty Christian friends who think they are the only ones there.

1 Comments:

Blogger Mark said...

Teenage hormones also kick in about the time the pecan trees start budding.

8:40 PM  

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