Springs: emotional, botanical, mammalian, religious, meterological, temporal, and astronomical

When does spring actually arrive in New England?  After a winter's worth of waiting, it might seem that the rather despairing answer is "Not soon enough" or, sigh, "Never."  And that would feel correct, emotionally speaking.  Meantime, we are bombarded with a range of different dates for the beginning of spring.  Take your choice! There's the meteorological start, defined by average temperatures, on March 1. Then, we spring forward into Daylight Saving Time on March 10. Our local groundhog's shadowless day forecast the start of this year's spring on March 16.  Want to hold out longer?  Go for the vernal equinox on March 20.  Or wait to celebrate with Easter on March 31. With March snowstorms rolling through, it's kind of a moving target.

To jack the seasons along, I've been cutting forsythia for indoor forcing. At last, the "Lynwood Gold" has produced so many branches that an armful can be cut without fear of leaving a plant with the appearance of a child's self inflicted haircut.

A little additional clipping of stems under warm water, a little sunshine, a little time, and behold--spring arrives on my schedule!