When is spring officially starts?
According to WikiAnswers, spring comes in between the 19th to the 23rd of March every year. It changes on a yearly basis depending on when is the (Spring) Vernal Equinox. This is when the sun is directly above the equator and considered as the first official day of spring. From one of the website, I understand that spring this year shall officially start on the 20th March.
Some people say that spring has come when you start seeing snowdrops. So I started looking for signs of snowdrops when the weather did not look like it's going to freeze again. It's not easy to find it in my area. I read that in some countries snowdrops are protected species and people are forbidden to take the bulbs from the wild.
A few weeks ago, I noticed that some clumps of small plants (slightly higher than the grass) had started flowering at a neighbour's compound. I wondered whether they were snowdrops. I couldn't really see from the road. But I was sure it must be it, even if it wasn't, it looked so nice I wanted to take pictures of it. I wonder whether I had the nerve to walk up the pathway, ring the bell and asked their permission.
Last Friday, when I slowly walked (due to my hurt knee ) DS to school, I noticed that the flowers were not as fresh as before. No wonder, I had already seen crocus blooming on the big roundabout the week before, so it must be time for the snowdrops to drop out of scene. On the way back home, I saw an old Dutchman outside the house, ahaa... this is my chance. I hesitantly approached the old man and said...
"Goede morgen, kun ik.... kun ik take fotos.... err bloemen?" (please excuse my dutch, in fact I was not sure I said it right).
The old man smiled... "Yeah" and launched into meaningless jumble of words.... "***&&&%%%$$###@@@***." From his smiling face, I thought he said yes.
Encouragingly I said "Ohh... it's lekker.... Ik live here...." pointing my finger in the general direction of my house, my mind was thinking furiously and searching for dutch words to explain to him, when he said....
"Do you speak English?"
*sigh*
What a relief.... I thought old Dutch people do not speak English. That's what they said, the very young and the very old Dutch do not speak English.
"Take as much as you want, they are not in their prime anymore, but go ahead", he said.
Thanking him, I slowly made my way and took some pictures. It's not easy... because I still couldn't bend my right knee :D At one time, I nearly fell.... but it was worth it.
I still couldn't be sure, but I think they are snowdrops and not their relative snowflakes.
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| carpets of snowdrops |
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| From across the canal |
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| A single clump of snowdrops |
Snowdrop - picture from mr Wiki
Life is beautiful. . . . Subhanallah
15 comments:
wahh..good ye, since kat sana dah lebih appreciative of nature, the other day birds, now flowers..thanks for sharing the info,
err..I dont have to study dutch do I?
:-)
The man must be very happy to have someone admiring his garden. You might just make his day;-). In the gardening blogging world, we see many pictures or snowdrop posted now because it means spring is here and we can start growing things outside.
Cheqna,
I heard that Dutch are into nature...
Nee... je hoeft niet te nederlands leren :D
Mother of Ilham,
Spring is also the time for house cleaning....or else why would they call it spring cleaning, eh? Cheqna tu jealous rumah dia takde tanah nak tanam bunga...hehehehe.... purrr....meow!
oh, I'm glad that I don't have to learn it. but will try to learn one or two greetings.
hallo, hoe gaat het?
goedemorgen
hebben een goede dag
dank u
hehehe..no. not an expert, google yang pandai tu :-D
cheqna tak jeles cos bukan "green fingers" pun..hehe
:-)
Malay-Kadazan girl,
He..he.. I sure hope I just made his day :D
Is it ok to start growing things now? Hmm... I'm considering that idea. I am excited looking at your harvest and Bangchik's green plants, terasa nak bercucuk tanam pulak... but I've never tried it.
Dear mama Cats,
Please do not mention that word!! I hate cleaning...
He..he.. Cheqna.. which plant survives you? As I recall even cactus died on you ha..ha..
Cheqna,
Tulis senang je... cuba sebut betul2 tengok !!! Banyak tersangkut kat tekak !!! Bahasa Dutch banyak "idghram" !!!
Lupa pulak Cheqna...
Never give up !!! Always try your best !! So... jom bercucuk tanam he..he..
cantik jer tumbuh melata kat tepi canal, sy suka snowdrop.
snowdrop kat sini dah layu..
crocus pun dah mula tumbang...
daffodil hampir kembang!
Spring is in the air! I smell flowers..hehe. U r very lucky you'll be surrounded by beautiful flowers. Kat sini pun dah masuk masuk bunga ..bunga kertas plg byk bunga masa ni. Tak nampak daun..
fa10,
Cantik tengok crocus kat blog fa10, nampaknya crocus disana keluar dulu kut.... Di kwsn rumah2 disini baru je kembang.... Tapi kat bulatan besar tu dah kembang dari 5 Mac lagi!! Hmm... tak faham, agaknya crocus pun mcm tulip juga kut, ada kembang cepat & ada yg lambat.
Tahun ni tak berpeluang bergambar kat tempat yg banyak crocus *sigh*
TK,
I love bunga kertas terutama bila tak nampak daunnya.... cantikkk....
TK, kat M'sia pun kita banyak bunga yg cantik2, cuma agaknya sebelum ni tak berpeluang nak appreciate sebab rutin seharian adalah kerja-rumah-kerja-kedai-rumah-kerja. Percayalah... cuti2 M'sia pun x sempat !!!
yup, even my cactus died..haha
:-)
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