First Day of Spring or Spring Has Sprung

Happy Spring to everyone! I hope you see the flowers popping up soon. I hope we see some moisture here on the Front Range in Colorado. Fortunately, the news report today said that we have enough in the water reserves and the mountains have had an average snow accumulation for the year.

I wanted to share some Spring trivia with you to celebrate the Vernal Equinox. First, and I think most important, is the answer to a question that has puzzled me most of my life - why does the date for Easter change year to year? I finally found the answer, and here it is: The date of Easter is calculated as the first Sunday after the First Full Moon on or after Vernal (March) Equinox.

Now that does not seem too hard does it? I wonder who had to do the math to figure out how to create that calculation.

Now, on to less mentally taxing trivia:

Around March 21st, the earth's position in its orbit around the sun places its equator in line with the sun. This time period is called the "vernal equinox" and is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. "Vernal" means spring and "equinox" means equal.

An emerald represents spring, rebirth, hope, peace, and tranquility.

Though baby birds are born with the ability to sing, they must learn the songs of their species. An isolated baby bird will learn simple songs, but not the complex songs of its species. A bird must hear in order to learn. Only a few birds can sing the songs of other species. The mockingbird seems to be the best at imitating the songs of other birds.

An area along the California and Oregon border produces 95 percent of all bulbs grown in the world for the potted Easter lily market. They produce more than 11 million bulbs annually.

On March 14th, Pedro and I saw the first robin in our front yard. He was very excited and chattered away at the bird that is almost the size of his favorite outdoor friend, Squiggy the squirrel.

I hope you are all planning fun outdoor activities for the good weather ahead!

New Knitting Group

We met for the first time this evening, however, I feel a connection to these women who bravely come out to meet in a central location in the effort to find like-minded people. The quote of the evening was related to the relief of finding others who understood what she was saying about knitting. We noted it has its own language and when spoken with passion to non-knitters it can cause the glassy-eyed look that reminds one of deer in the headlights.

We met at an independent coffee house off of the main drag. The place is cozy and the staff energetic, happy and very interesting. I had the privilege of meeting the #1 barista in Colorado Springs of independent coffee establishments, as awarded by The Independent. She is lovely, quick to please, and, as I found out, very creative in her concoctions.

She is even creating a Coffee Tour for her regulars that may soon become a club (or cult of sorts). I plan to visit during our holiday-imposed hiatus to try the Cranberry/White Chocolate mocha drink. She says it is a holiday favorite. When I asked for a printed menu, I was told that they can and will do anything even if it is not on the large chalkboard of choices. A specialty of the house is creating just about all of the fancy drinks in a sugar-free format.

I am looking forward to sharing my passion for the craft with this lovely group of ladies!