Has Spring Sprung There?

 Where you are, is it spring yet?

Here, it most assuredly is.  Temperatures during the day are getting on the "it's a mite warm" side, to quote my Sweetie.  Talk about extremes, i get very ill due to cold, and he can't stand heat.  Maybe we need to live in separate climates, but that kind of puts a damper on the relationship, don't you know.

Anyway, it's warm during the day here, and no more chance of freezing nights.  The nights will stay cool, but it won't be frost on the windshield cool.  The warmth during the day, and the humidity of the rainy days, are reminders that the wilting summer heat is coming soon.

So is the fact that today is picture day for the kids at school (no lessons, just show up for pictures and go home), and tomorrow and Friday are parent/teacher conferences, and they don't go back to school until April.  Spring break is upon us, in all of its glory.

Bigger Girl wants to take a few friends and go on a day trip or two, just getting out to places too far to usually visit, but not far enough to need an overnight stay.

#2 Son wants to fish and cook.  And sleep.  Then fish and cook more.

Little Girl and her friend Rebecca are planning two things.  The first is a joint writing/art project.  They have a book idea, and both are talented at art and writing stories, so they are going to do a book together.  They are also going to try to "win back their friend Annie from the dark side," as they put it.  She has started spending more time texting and Facebooking, and they want to drag her back into the real world.  Good luck to them on it, i hope they can.

Those of you who live where there is still snow, take heart.  Spring is coming.  It will get there soon.


Today is:

Bali Spirit Festival -- Ubud, Bali (annual celebration of Balinese culture, yoga, healing arts, music and dance; through Sunday)

Big Bird Day -- it's his birthday, and he's still only 6 years old!  (wish i could figure out that trick)

Bockbier/Bock Beer Day -- bock is the German word for strong, so a day to honor very strong, very dark, sweet, heavy beer

Cherry Blossom Festivals -- Japan (from now through mid-April, every city will welcome spring at some point with a Sakura Matsuri or Hanami, where people sit under the trees and enjoy beer or sake; scheduling in each place depends on weather and the blossoms themselves)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Day -- birth anniversary of children's author Bill Martin

Equinox -- related celebrations (11:02 UTC)
     Akitu Festival begins -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar
     Chunfen -- China
     Festival of Dumuzi -- Ancient Sumerian Calendar (return of the god of life and death to be with the goddess of life and bring the spring)
     Festival of Iduna -- Ancient Norse Calendar (goddess of spring, keeper of the apples of youth for the gods)
     Haru-no-Higan -- Japanese Buddhist
     Harvest Festival and Coming Forth of the Great Ones from the House of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar
     Jare -- Old Slavic Calendar
     Kukulcan Snake God in Chichen Itza -- Yucatan (the snake shadow appears only at the equinox, and celebrations are held before and after)
     Maslenitsa -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan Calendar
     Ostara/Mabon -- Wicca/Pagan, Ancient Norse Calendar, Old Anglo-Teutonic Calendar
     Pacha Pucuy -- Ancient Inca Calendar ("Earth Ripening")
     Shunbun no Hi -- Japan
     Taoist festival of Shen -- Deities of water, East, and Spring

Extraterrestrial Abductions Day -- another silly made up one, but try telling that to the people who believe in it!

Great American Meat Out Day -- go vegetarian today!

Independence Day -- Tunisia

International Day of the Francophonie /  Journée internationale de la Francophonie

International Day of Happiness -- UN

International Earth Day -- the traditional date, still observed in many countries

Kids Kick Butts Day -- Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids www.tobaccofreekids.org

Kiss Your Fiance Day -- do you really need to be reminded to do this? a wedding planner thinks so, that you should stop today and focus on each other, not the wedding

Lajos Kossuth Day -- Hungary

Martyrdom of Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi -- Pakistan

National Cherry Blossom Festival -- Washington, DC, US (through April 14; Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival and parade on April 13)

National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day -- nnaapc.org

National Jump Out! Day -- sponsored by Discovery Girls Magazine and Fundex Games; encouraging kids to get out and get active

National Ravioli Day

Nowruz/Nauruz/Novruz Bairam/Norooz (begins at sunset) -- Iranian diaspora, Kurdish diaspora, Zoroastrians; Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; Iran (Persian New Year)
     celebrations go through the weekend in some areas, or beyond
     Naw Ruz -- Baha'i (New Year, and an end of the time of fasting; begins sunset)

Proposal Day® -- a day for singles to propose to their true love; on the equinox, equal night and day symbolizing equal commitment; www.proposalday.com

Smile Rejuvenation Day -- another one from the ecard companies, make someone smile today

Snowman Burning Day  -- Lake Superior State College, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, US (celebration of the start of spring; cannot confirm date, but always on or near the first day of spring)

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfane's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors, shepherds; England; Durham, England; Lancaster, England; Northumbria, England; against plague and plague epidemics)

Won't You Be My Neighbor Day -- in honor of Mr. Rogers' birth anniversary

World Frog Day

World Storytelling Day -- to celebrate the tradition of oral storytelling



Birthdays Today:

Kathy Ireland, 1963
David Thewlis, 1963
Holly Hunter, 1958
Spike Lee, 1957
Jimmie Vaughan, 1951
William Hurt, 1950
Bobby Orr, 1948
Pat Riley, 1945
Lois Lowry, 1937
Hal Linden, 1931
Fred "Mr." Rogers, 1928
Carl Reiner, 1922
Ozzie Nelson, 1906
B.F. Skinner, 1904
Henrik Ibsen, 1828
Ovid, BC43


Today in History:

Sixth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 141
Maximus Thrax, who never set foot in Rome, becomes the first of the Foreign or Barracks Emperors of the Roman Empire, 235
A Saturn/Jupiter/Mars-conjunction is thought to be the "cause of plague epidemic," 1345
Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment, 1616
France and Spain sign an accord for fighting protestantism, 1627
Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne, 1739
The Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings, 1760
After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule, 1815
US and Siam sign commercial treaty, 1833
Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published in Boston, 1852
An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina, 1861
The first AC power plant in the US begins commercial operation, in Massachusetts, 1886
In the first known intercollegiate basketball game, Yale beats Penn 32-10, 1897
The first international figure skating championship takes place, in New Haven, Connecticut, 1914
Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity, 1916
The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United States showing, 1923
A test of a practical radar apparatus is made by Rudolf Kuhnold in Germany, 1934
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established, 1964
Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, 1985
Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering, 1990
Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party's first leader, 2004
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years, 2005
Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop, 2006