Grateful for Spring

Last week I had a thought.  Well, I had many thoughts but this particular thought was about the New Year.  Why is the New Year in January?  Shouldn't it  be in the spring when so much of the world is being renewed be it through plants, through new life in the form of birds and animals, or the re-birth of deities?

Turns out that once upon time, when we followed the Julian Calendar we celebrated the New Year on March 25. We changed to the Gregorian Calendar in the late 1700's because if I recall correctly from my research, the date of the spring equinox eventually became quite inaccurate.   I wish I could find the link that explained the reasoning behind the change of the New Year celebration to January 1st, but I deleted my history yesterday, and darned if I can find the site I was looking at. 

So this long winded pre-amble is my lead up to telling you that today, with less than twenty-four hours until the vernal equinox and what I recall the Baha'i faith calling the New Year, I am most grateful for Spring.  Particularly for:

105.  the sunny, windy days that allowed me to put my sheets out on the line for the first time this year.  Dare I trust Max?

106.  the pale light in the sky when I looked out the window at 6:04 this morning. I'm a morning person and the light really invigorates me in the spring and summer.

107.  the pungent smell of moist black earth and budding poplar leaves.

108.  opening my windows for the first time to let the fresh air blow through.

109.  the evening light that means it's time to start walking the dogs after supper again.  I look forward to running into my  neighbours out doing the same.

110.  not having to put winter clothes on to make roasted beets on the BBQ for tonight's dinner.