Spring Comes in with a Shiver - Happy Vernal Equinox

March 21 is noted as the first full day of spring in the northern hemisphere.  Spring is heralded by increasing daylight hours.  That magic moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator (the equatorial line as projected into space, around the earth's circumference) means that it will spend more time above the horizon than below it.  That exact moment is not always March 21st.  This year it is March 20 (at 12:59PM EDT - eastern daylight time).  If you read our Winter Solstice post, you'll understand that the heavens don't set their movements to our earthly calendar.  The sun will cross the celestial equator sometime on March 20 every year for the next 40 years; in 2044 the date will be March 19.  We won't see an equinox on March 21st until 2102.  And here's a brain-teaser:  why is it that on the vernal equinox the sun rises due east and sets due west for every location in the world?  Yes, every location.  The answer is at:  Everything you need to know:  Vernal or spring equinox 2014.

Well, at least the the northern half of the earth will soon see stirrings of plant and animal life - and warmer weather.  But not next week.  Looks like Punxatawney Phil was right.  Phil may have had his reasons, but the unseasonable weather the northeast and north central states have endured is not the result of his shadow - something called a Rex Block has paid an unusually southern visit to the US.  Meanwhile we in the southeast are paying the price for a mild winter and a wetter-than-usual 2013.

A National Symbol?

Guess what species of bird this is?  If you said, "an adolescent bald eagle," you'd be right!  Like human teens, eagles go through that "awkward" time when their elders may wonder what gene pool they came from.  The bald eagle is born with a fluff of grey brown feathers on its body and wings and a snowy cap of white.  In northeast Florida the births happen in winter. It is a voracious eater, and by early spring it is as big as its parent and has exchanged its adorable plumage for a coat of scruffy dark feathers with white mottling.  A face only a mother (and a father) could love.  Both parents care for their chicks.  This photo probably doesn't endear us to it - sopping wet and gripping a bone from its latest meal in its beak.  The Switzerland-Fruit Cove Flordia area hosts at least seven bald eagle nests, and if this year's eaglets are lucky they'll have nests of their own in the future.  Learn more about our local national birds at our Resources post on Bald Eagle Nests.

Laissez Fumier Roule

They may be celebrating Fat Tuesday in New Orleans, Laissez Bon Ton Roule style, but up in the Butterfly Garden at Alpine Groves Park in Switzerland, Florida the Garden Club of Switzerland was getting ready for spring Laissez Fumier Roule style.   Instead of letting the Bon Ton (good times) roll, they were letting the Fumier (manure) roll.  Don't wrinkle up your nose!  The fertilizer was properly cured; and cured of any unpleasant odor...  Yes, OUR butterflies are WORTH IT. 

Despite the chill and the grey threats of rain, Mother Nature was on their side;  she held off her spring showers.  

And so the gardeners hauled, and pitched and wheeled their treasure to the appointed spots - the roots of the waiting plants.  We may smirk about manure, but it's the original Black Gold, the all-natural 100% organic - often imitated, but never duplicated (except by horses and other herbivores) "good stuff".  You could almost see the buds pop for joy!

Happy Birthday St. Johns County Agricultural Extension Center

County Agricultural Extension Center

St. Johns County is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Agricultural Extension Center at 3125 Agricultural Center Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32092-0572.  On any weekday (and a great many weekends) you'll see volunteers and county extension employees hard at work providing science-based information and lots of fun activities to help our residents understand and appreciate horticulture (professional and homeowner), agriculture, 4-H youth programs, forestry issues, disaster mitigation, marine and estuary programs, and consumer information and nutrition.  

For instance, every weekday from 9AM until noon, county residents can get free help with horticultural questions provided by our University of Florida certified master gardeners.  Just call  (904) 209-0430 or come to the center.  The extension center hosts many free and lost-cost classes and events too.  See the latest newsletters on Coastal Environment, 4-H Youth,  and Lawn and Garden topics.  

But you can't fully appreciate where you are unless you know where you've been.  Learn where St. Johns County has been by visiting the  County Administration Building, 500 San Sebastian View to see the free exhibit on our county's agricultural history.  The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.   It runs through April 24.   For more information regarding the display or the Agricultural Center,  call (904) 209-0430.