Signs of Spring

In my Sunday post on March 16, I said, "Hello," to spring. However, spring in this part of the world did not actually arrive until Thursday, March 20 at 5:48 UT. Furthermore, in our corner of the Earth, we have four seasons with vast differences in temperature and weather patterns. Spring here in Indiana is marked by rain, warming temperatures, and blossoming flowers and trees.

One phenomenon that I witness every spring and every fall as I drive to work at about 7:00 AM is the sun rising directly in the east right down the road in front of me. Although the sun shining in one's eyes is inconvenient, I find this astronomical occurrence fascinating. Our route to work is mostly down 73rd Avenue, a east-west bearing street that has been a pathway for mankind for centuries. In prehistoric times, the street was the Great Sauk Trail used by native Americans. In 1912, the street became part of the first road across America called the Lincoln Highway or US 30. This ancient path runs in a straight east-west direction, perhaps due to historic travelers following the sunrise to the east or the sunset to the west.

Yesterday, on the first day of spring as I was squinting at the gorgeous sunrise, I planned to photograph the sun rising at the east end of 73rd Avenue this morning and then to blog about this grand event of the sun rising due east on the Vernal Equinox. However, this is what our spring world looked like on the second day of spring in 2008.

I guess that the spring rains and flowers will come later.