Spring is almost here but not in the Bottom half of the world

Spring or Autumn?

The current topic is Spring, but in the Southern hemisphere, we are just drifting off into autumn. It is tough to think about Spring as Autumn approaches. Spring is generally accepted as beginning in March in the Northern hemsphere and September in the Southern hemisphere.

 

 

Autumn

Here the grass is turning yellow and bare patches are beginning to appear. The leaves are turning yellow and starting to fall off the trees. The trees are starting to look forlorn having lost their summer splendor. The only ones staring to look green and strong are the stately firs which are coming into their own as winter approaches and they look their best.

 

The evenings are just starting to add a breath of coolness into the air. Just a reminder of what is coming. Shorts, sandals and short-sleeved shirts are giving way to slacks and shoes. Most people are starting to wear long-sleeves as an admission and homage to the slightly cooler weather. A few sleeveless pullovers are to be seen in the evenings and alfresco dining has been replaced by indoor dining. Menus are starting to offer soups, stews and red wines, giving way to the salads, Sauvignon blancs, Chardonnays and Rose's. The salads and sushi are eaten less often.

 

Autumn is a gloomy time, cloudy weather and all day rain being the harbinger of colder weather. The gloom is incremented by the approaching Easter and good Friday. The last harvests of fruit and some veggies are starting to appear in the shops.

Spring

 

So where were we, oh yes Spring? I guess you lot can start looking forward to cherry blossoms and those amazing pictures from DC. The daffodils and crocuses (not to mention the tulips starting to peek above the ground). The upside of Easter, resurrection, new life, easter bunnies, fertility and newly born animals on the farms.We can too but the mood is muted by the role approaching winter plays in our lives. The baseball season is here, but for us cricket is nearly over and Rugby has begun. Rugby is is a passion and a lifestyle for us Australia and New Zealand too. We have the Super Fourteen Rugby between our top teams in those three countries. We have the annual Tri-nations Rugby tournament at national level. O dear (tut tut) here  I lapse back into autumn and approaching winter again! Oh yes and you have a tradition of Spring break but we don’t, We tend to have Xmas summer break!

 

 

Some World Events

So what happened around the world in spring, our autumn (the month of March) in the past?

 

• Congress authorized the creation of YellowstoneNational Park, 1872

   

• King Kong, premiered in New York, 1933

   

• Star Spangled Banner adopted as National Anthem of the United States, 1931

   

• Jesse James died in 1882

   

• Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin died in 1953

   

• Actor John Belushi found dead at age 33 of a drug overdose in Hollywood 1982

   

• Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone, 1876

   

• The Beatles UK album Please Please Me was released, 1963

   

• Beatle Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman 1969

   

• John Lennon married Yoko Ono 1969

   

• Albert Einstein was born in Germany, 1879

   

• Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and Cassius, 44 B.C. (Beware the ides of March)

   

• Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor accident, 1979

   

• Julius & Ethel Rosenberg convicted of espionage, 1951

   

• President Reagan was shot in Washington, D.C., during an assassination attempt, 1981

   

• My eldest son was born in 1972

   

 

 

So sorry guys Spring is not a topic I can get my teeth into at present.