Spring is here - for sure

[Michele] In a place were flowers bloom all year round and people wear thongs (aka flip flops) all year round how do you know that Spring has arrived?

You know it is Spring when the wind shifts. Over the past few days the wind has shifted from the SE to the NE, and this new wind brings hot and humid air from the equatorial region.  I'm missing the cool dry Southern Ocean winds that we had during the winter.

Metallic Starling

You know it is Spring when the stinger nets go up.  The water near the shore is as warm as a bath (or as Aussie's say 'the water is warm as').   The crocs and box jellies like it warm so spring means no more swimming in the ocean outside of the stinger nets.  Also the crocs will be nesting along the beaches.

You know it is Spring when the Metallic Starlings start nesting.   The nest in the same trees each season.  The Eucalypti in our neighborhood got a good trimming by cyclone Yasi but the Metallic Starlings are back, swarming and nest building.  We've seen some other new birds in town too.

There are probably many other signs of Spring that we are not yet attuned to.  While writing this I remembered that I had written something about the arrival of Spring four years ago (http://cassowarytales.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/doubtful-spring.html).  In that blog post I wrote that Spring didn't seem Spring-like at all.  This time around, we are more adjusted to the tropical seasons and are starting to recognize those subtle signs.

The arrival of Spring in the tropics is not celebrate with the same E. E. Cummings 'in Just'-like joy nor the Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold can Stay"-like wonder that Spring gets in temperate climes.  Rather we are all a bit sad that the cool clear days of winter are over.  So we turn on the ceiling fans, swim in the pool and enjoy cool beverages as the heating up starts.