Already in bloom

by aleks
When I first came to this country,  a good friend kept giving me stacks of his wife's magazine subscriptions, so I could  expand my English vocabulary; I found most of them rather boring, there were so called 'women's magazines', and although reading recipes without actually cooking has been one of my favorite time killers ever,  well, how much can one's horizons  be expanded on recipes... (Although the time reading them wasn't completely wasted, as I found some food in my new country quite imaginative and even exotic:  tuna and almond casserole with canned (!) onion rings, 7 layers of veggie-stuff in some jello, and that unforgettable party sandwich 'loaf', made out to look like a cake -  that was in the 80s, in case you are too young to figure out what I'm talking about).

SJG • 3/5/13 – Young Corylopsis pauciflora • Buttercup Winter Hazel, Area B
Will burst out any day now

SJG 3/5/13 • Cornus mas , Cornelian cherry; Area L

Then one day my friend gifted me with  Old Farmer's Almanac -  about 3 years worth of his subscription...  Not a glossy thing, but very beautiful and old-charmey... I was instantly hooked, even though it would be another year before I would try to actually garden for the first time in my life (instant success - it was in St. Louis, MO, where gardener cannot fail, as long as the plants are watered, and bigger than weeds).

SJG 3/5/13 • Cornus mas , Cornelian cherry; Area L, Flowers

Most of you probably know that the Old Farmer's Almanac has been published continuously since 1792, making it the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, which was precisely what glued me to it:  I kept wondering what it would be like to have them ALL,  and read and read, all the way back to the beginning: weather predictions, planting charts, astronomy for planting, tides and sunrises - it seemed to me it would feel like being in a time machine backwards...

A few days ago, and many years after I forgot about the magazine's existence, I put into google 'spring equinox 2013', wanting to know exactly how many days we have left waiting. The first hit opened to my old friend, Old Farmer's Almanac, now on-line (check their covers throughout history here):

Spring begins with the vernal equinox at 7:02 A.M. (EDT) onMarch 20, 2013 in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s more about the start of spring, signs of spring, and stunning spring photos!

The Vernal Equinox

Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna.

The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west.

SJG 3/5/13 •  Camellia japonica "Cheerful', Area C

Drat, we are in the winter for a while then.

But a walk through the SJG last week told a different story:  camellia daikagura (right past the fork in a road, toward E path) blooming the second month already;  now camellia  'cheerful' started keeping her company (along the main path, behind yukimidoro lantern) - both in reds;  cornelian cherry (by the fence along E path) is covered  in yellows star-like blossoms, and buttercup winter hazel is about to burst out....
Ah, spring!

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案ずるより産むが易し。
o Anzuru yori umu ga yasashi.
o Literally: Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.
o Meaning: Fear is greater than the danger. / An attempt is sometimes easier than expected