Spring has sprung, but not here...

When chatting with Cathy last night I mentioned that Monday was the first day of Spring.

"It might be for other people, babe. But it's not for us."

Which is a fair point. Although the weather gods saw fit to give us a balmy (for the North) day. The high was -5 and calm. Which was a nice break from the past week, which saw the temperatures in the -20s and lots of wind. So with the windchill, the temperature was normally around -50. So that is a bit on the brisk side.

Still, it's going to be a long time before we see "Spring" here. Odds are there will still be snow and ice around until well into May, maybe even June. Which doesn't make it all that much different from St. John's, I guess.

It's why I've never really cared much for Spring. I think I've only experienced it, at it's normal time, once in my life. Most of us know what Spring is like in Newfoundland. Hell, more than one of you have been out camping on May 24th weekend in the snow. At least in St. John's, the leaves on trees don't start coming out in earnest until June (and are promptly eaten by the span worm by the end of July). So the whole idea of "Ahhh, Spring..." is foreign to me.

Except...

In 1997 I was in South Korea teaching English. And right around March 21, Spring happened. The temperatures got warm, leaves came out on the trees and the cherry blossoms began to bloom. By the way, blooming cherry blossom trees are among the more beautiful things in Korea. I have mixed memories about Korea, but I wouldn't mind going back just to see the cherry blossoms again.

And I remember thinking how freaky it was that in some part of the world, Spring actually happened on time. Not months later. Not some mockery of Spring, with final blasts of blizzards, sleet, grey fog and small glaciers floating by. But actual mild temperatures and cherry blossoms.

It was nice. I liked it.

And now, nearly 10 years later, I'm in a place that's going to make Spring in Newfoundland look punctual.

Ah well...at least there is more daylight. On the first day of Spring in Iqaluit the sun rose at 5:36 a.m. and set at 5:47 p.m. Which means we get 12 hours and 11 minutes of daylight, three minutes more than St. John's. (We get a lot more sunshine than home, but I can't speak for its warmth). So in that regard, at least the long darkness is officially behind us.

Of course, talk to me again in three months time when I'm losing my mind in the 24 hour sunshine...