The weatherman has been telling us that our meteorological spring will arrive on the first of March, which is this Friday. If our calendar went by nature, it seems logical that April instead of January would be the first month of the year.

When we turn the calendar page to April, it seems to be the beginning of nature’s cycle, with warming of the air, longer days, new growth appearing, landscapes changing colors and fresh and fragrant odors filling the air. Although we will still have cold days, the warmer days will outnumber them.

The word spring (noun) and spring (verb) come from the same source: the Indo-European word sprengh, which means rapid movement. Spring also means to jump and a place where a stream rises from the ground.

The notion of rising was also applied figuratively to the beginning of the day and to the emergence of new growth, which led to the expression “spring of the year” and to our use of spring for the season following winter, which replaced the previous term lent.

The spring equinox is what determines the beginning of spring. When this occurs, the sun is directly over the equator and, at this time, both day and night are supposed to be of equal length. However, the Earth’s atmosphere bends the sun’s image upward at both sunrise and sunset, causing day to be at least seven minutes longer than night on this date for most of the United States.

Although scientifically, spring originates way up there among the stars, it really doesn’t arrive for us humans until the snow melts.

Man is not alone in his rush towards spring. Even the animals are sometimes fooled into thinking spring has arrived. Earlier this month, I saw woodchucks, skunks, opossums, etc., out and about during a warm spell.

These animals surely returned to their dens when the weather became frigid to wait for nature’s spring. Also, flocks of red-winged blackbirds, robins, and geese often find that old man winter has not lost his grip on our area when greeted by late snow, frozen ponds and cold weather.

Henry Van Dyke wrote in Fishermen’s Luck: “The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.”

However, take heart because we need to get through March because nature is awakening in April. During April, we will see many, many miracles, such as grass turning green, leaves unfurling, flowers blooming and seeds sprouting. Today, we know the reason for the change in seasons; however, early man must have viewed spring with awe.

For spring, with life returning to the Earth, was a spiritual occurrence and a promise that life would get easier for him.

Perhaps John Milton reflected the thoughts of early man when he wrote:

“I don’t go much on religion,

I never ain’t had no show;

But I’ve got a middlin’ tight grip, sir,

on the handful o’things I know.

I don’t pan out on the prophets and free will, and that sort of thing

But I b’lieve in God and the angels ever since one-night last spring.

Well, spring is not officially here but we have experienced the mud season, which will be with us for another month or so.

Robert Frost wrote this third verse in his poem “Two Tramps in Mud Time.”

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day.

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You’re one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you’re two months back in the middle of March.”

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.