Nearing the vernal equinox

Sometime in school I learned the meaning, and somewhere along the way it vanished.  Looking it up in Webster’s (I still prefer the heft of the book and the feel and sound of the pages) I remind myself that ‘equinox’ refers to the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (vernal equinox).  Vernal:  belonging to or characteristic of youth – hence, spring.  Although we are several days from it’s beginning the signs of spring are everywhere!

new growth and blossoms on the lemon trees

Japanese maples

bursting into leaf

apricot

peach

plum

and quince blossoms

tiny nectarines

and early peaches already growing

and thousands of baby oak trees

the hope of renewal and new life everywhere