Sound of Spring

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Much to do tomorrow, early, and tonight is crystal clear. Figures. While a bit chilly at 26 ?F there is no wind so its not bad outside. So of course I have to setup and do some astrophotography. Get by with less sleep 🙂

I started my target a bit earlier than I normally would. DST has thrown my timing off a bit. While getting ready I noticed something different. In winter the night is silent, except for passing cars everything is quiet. So unlike summer where the bugs and creatures are busy making noise. What I noticed tonight is the frogs, the chirps coming from both a creek and watering holes close by. So indeed spring is just around the corner.

First Flowers

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This beautiful Sunday morning I find a group of crocuses have popped up and are blooming. Nice to see a touch of fresh color on the dead and dreary ground (click image for a larger picture). This patch of yellow is small and easy to miss but more will come. The crocus and Hyacinth bulbs have greatly multiplied at my place over the past several years.

It will be interesting to see if my new tulips come up. Late December I was given a box of almost a hundred bulbs, probably because nobody got them planted in time. One day I was able to get them into the ground but who knows if they will do anything. No sign of them yet.

This winter season has been considered ‘normal’ which is probably a good thing. Last year we warmed up fast in late February to early March and everything started to bud, sprout, and come up. A few weeks later a deep hard freeze hit and wiped everything out. It was kinda depressing.

DST is BS

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This is the second year of the extended Daylight Savings Time (DST) , set to change tonight in a few minutes. I think the whole idea is BS. What do we gain? We lose an hour of light in the morning to give people an hour longer evening, which is an hour later start for what I like to do.

Energy savings is touted as a motivating reason today, just as it was in Ben Franklins day and the time that followed. I don’t see where that applies the same at all. In fact a recent study reported in the NY Times suggests that energy use may actually increase when using DST time in the summer. The summer is already challenging for astrophotographers. The shortest nights, warm temperatures, and higher humidity conspire against us. So remind me WTF we are doing this DST for again?