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Showing posts from March 21, 2010

Happy Spring Solstice

Today, in astronomical terms, is the beginning of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere - 22 September in the Southern Hemisphere. This is when the sun crosses the equator on its journey toward the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn. Spring lasts until the start of summer at the summer solstice. Apparently the moment when spring begins does not correlate exactly with changes in weather which we usually take as the change of seasons. Temperatures in the daytime lag behind the energy delivered to earth by the sun by several weeks as the earth and sea take time to warm up. (thanks and reference to Wikipedia for my apparent scientific knowledge on this) It’s a good feeling to know that the days are now lighter for longer and that we can look forward to some sunshine soon, even if not right now at the official beginning of Spring. Today in my part of the country the sun is struggling to get through cloud and the ground is soaked after a day of rain yesterday. (I was told that it