By Melissa Martin
Ah, the beginning of another spring. “Enjoy!” chirp the birds. “Enjoy!” buzz the bees. “Enjoy!” sing the daffodils. The earth in Ohio thaws out and plant life underground pushes up through the soil.
The other side of spring. Mud, mud, and more mud. Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. Weeds, weeds, and more weeds. Ugh.
2019 Spring Weather Forecast
What does the 2019 Farmers’ Almanac predict? “Spring will once again take its sweet time arriving. When the Groundhog predicted an early spring earlier this month, we had a good chuckle because we (and those who follow us) know that winter will be sticking around for quite a while. In fact, cool to cold temperatures will hang on through April, especially in the Northeast & New England, Great Lakes & Midwest, as well as the north and south central states. This will be especially true in the Northeast, where a potent mid-April storm could even lead to wet snow, especially over higher elevations.” www.farmersalmanac.com.
In 2019, spring equinox (the March equinox or vernal equinox) happened Wednesday, March 20. This event marked the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
“The longer days do bring with them warmer weather. People are leaving their winter coats at home. Trees are budding, and plants are beginning a new cycle of growth. In many places, spring flowers are beginning to bloom.” www.earthsky.org.
Ohio in Bloom: Where to See Spring Flowers
Damaine Vonada writes about the blooming flowers of spring at www.ohio.org.
At central Ohio’s pre-eminent outdoor floral exhibition, more than 125,000 tulips, narcissus, crocus, hyacinth, and other blossoming beauties cascade through the new Children’s Garden, Grand Mallway, and other superbly planted spaces at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in downtown Columbus.
No wonder Zoo Blooms is nicknamed “Tulip Mania.” The annual event offers one of the Midwest’s largest – 100,000+ – displays of tulips, and the blossoming bulbs’ variety and vast color palette is unsurpassed. Zoo Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati.
Peruse the Backyard Garden Guide at www.ohiomagazine.com. Want fresh vegetables but daunted by the idea of all that planting, weeding and watering? Here’s when to start, what to grow and how to succeed in producing a bounty of food.
“Come Gentle Spring” by Jesse Stuart is a collection of twenty short stories, first published in 1969. The title clearly reflects Jesse Stuart’s philosophy of life, the joy and hopefulness he feels for humanity, symbolized by the coming to Spring. Jesse Stuart’s works always seem to focus on the essential goodness of humanity. He depicts a simple world where people exist the best they can. He focuses on the positive and life-enriching qualities of laughter, joy, respect, kindness, and love. Jesse Stuart (1906-1984) was one of the most popular Appalachian authors throughout the second half of the 20th Century.
“As the cold of winter and the holidays descends on us all, I’ve been reminiscent of Spring, when the warmth is just starting to pick it’s way through the dense snow and ice, when the flowers are budding; promises of many months of warmth and sunshine to come. I’ve been thinking about what reminds me of spring the most, and what my fondest memories of it are, and the one thing that has crossed my mind the most are my mother’s flowers,” writes Laura Ostrow.
My mother, Shirley Cunningham Martin, loved the spring. She rushed to plant her favorite flower in pots, red geraniums. Sometimes she added white or pink geraniums to her flower pots.
“And if this isn’t a day when your universe has tilted and something precious you take for granted has not been suddenly irrevocably lost, bow before the mystery and let gratitude wash over you for the miracle of life, health, and this brief walk on our fragile planet,” penned Carolyn Moore.
Melissa Martin, PhD, is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Southern Ohio.
