In the temperate and often volatile climate of Tasmania, we tend to farewell winter with a sigh of relief. We feel gratitude as the long hours of darkness shorten and the sun begins to return a little more each day. The winter blues induced by being cooped up, lack of vitamin D and cold fingers and toes can really get to us. So when we see the first blossoms on the deciduous trees in our neighbourhood, we rejoice and celebrate the end of winter.
If one is familiar with the pattern of Tasmania’s climate, one will know that celebrating the end of winter in early September may very well be premature elation. There is a reason that folklore tells us not to plant our tomato seedlings in the garden until show day in late October.
Late winter, including August and September can bring some of the heaviest snowfalls in Tasmania.
Having grown up in the northern hemisphere, I always associate September with the falling of leaves and the start of school after the long summer holidays. Here in Tasmania, while September is the official start of spring, it is also one of the most unpredictable in terms of weather, especially in the mountains. It’s the month that brings the transition, and with this comes the wind. If August is the month of deep snow and the bitter end of winter, September is the gusty catalyst that will blow your favourite hat off and take it far away from you. Early spring is a juxtaposition of beautiful, warm, sunny days that promise summer around the corner, followed by torrential rain, and gale force winds. Snowfall is almost guaranteed in alpine areas about a kilometre above sea level, although this is becoming more rare.
The snow simply doesn’t stick around for as long as it used to. Deep snowdrifts in September used to be the norm, now they are the exception. If there is one melancholy thought about the end of winter, it is this; we may very well see snow disappear from Tasmania within a single lifetime.
Warm, sunny days doesn’t mean the ocean is any warmer all of a sudden, but going for a swim does become a lot more tempting.
But let’s talk about spring, for it is upon us. Even if it slaps us across the face with an unexpected thunderstorm, it is so wonderful. It is the beginning of a new cycle, and ‘…at the beginning is balance, at the beginning is essence.’ Spring is an opportunity to start things afresh, to heal old wounds and to refresh our perspectives. It is the time of awakening to our ongoing existence. It is a time to pay attention to our senses, to catch a whiff of those blooming flowers, and to observe nature as she hustles and bustles about. It is a time of productivity, youthful energy and wonderful opportunities.
Go on, stick your nose in it! Smell the flowers! Just don’t get stung by a bee.
Many households around the world observe the tradition of the ‘spring clean’. Some may dread it, others will embrace it, but unwittingly, most of us practice it in some shape or another. Now is the time to dust off those cobwebs, although not all of them, as the spiders need a home too. Dust accumulates, and if there is ever a good time to rid our houses of it, it is now. It’s time to rethink, to restart and to revitalise. We can’t let a pandemic stop us from appreciating the return of the sun and all its connotations as it brings its influence back into our lives. We must embrace the changing of the seasons and everything that this change brings with it.
What does spring mean for you?