If it’s 5:00 where you are, you can look forward to the vernal equinox in just a little more than 12 hours. The first day of spring, a day to celebrate the Northern Hemisphere tilting more toward the sun, brings much joy to my neck of the woods, and officially begins on Saturday morning, March 20, at 5:37amEDT.
For starters, spring brings Oberon Day and a ray of hope in the shape of a beer can with a golden sun shimmering on the label!
This season officially kicks off on Monday, March 22, and signifies the end of winter and the beginning of summer barbecues and good outdoor times with friends, all while enjoying a tasty wheat beer traditionally served with an orange slice. If sunshine could be liquefied, it would be called Bell’s Oberon.
Adding more warmth to the earth is also melting the winter’s snows. I couldn’t find a single flake left in my yard, but last weekend took a drive to Lake Michigan — in my household, also known as The Lake — to check out what ice may be left. We found a little ice………
…..and when we drove a few more miles, there was no ice, but we did stumble upon something surprising — the waves churned some sand on the beach and unearthed an 1880’s shipwreck. A Great Lakes schooner built in 1855, heralded in its time as one of the finest looking specimens of naval architecture, measuring in at 126 feet. The wreckage has bubbled up sporadically since its demise, being visible once in the 40’s, once in the 70’s, and once again in 2018.
And back on terra firma — albeit slightly squishy terra firma — there will soon be signs of the sun’s warmth springing up from my gardens in the shape of golden daffodils and assorted tulips. The birds are noisy and looking forward to settling down in a nice little nest and raising a family, and we are one warm rain away from the ground emitting its usual earthy, wormy aroma.
So……here we are at the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the season. I can’t think of a better reason, or three, to raise my glass and welcome a new beginning.
Cheers! Happy Spring!