This year, for the first time in 124 years, there will be an early arrival of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Punxsutawney Phil can take zero credit for it. (Well, he might, because you know how pretentious groundhogs can be.) 

The entire U.S. will experience the equinox on March 19 which hasn’t occurred in the US since 1896 when Utah became a state and gold was discovered in the Yukon.

Not than any of us want to question the reason for this early arrival, but here are a couple of the “whys” behind it: 

  • For the same reason we have Leap Year, we have season lengths that change. Neither has an even number of days and at one point the distribution ends up unequal between the seasons. This year spring and summer were the winners.
  • The earth’s positional location and the pull of gravity from other planets can effect where the earth is during the specific seasons. In this case, it will be in the “Spring” position earlier this year. This will make spring around 92.7 days, summer almost 93.6 days, autumn 89.8 and winter 88.9 days.
  • The elliptical orbit of the earth is changing. The earth’s skew causes it to be pointing in a different direction, or precession, more than other years. 

Between the lights being on in the greenhouse, the delightfully consistent 72 degrees in the nursery, the early arrival of the vernal equinox, and our just general giddy anticipation of spring, we are trying our best to not waste the 18 extra hours we get of the new spring season in March! Not that we would, because…you know…Emerald City opens on Apri 15!

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