Spring arrives, but hasn’t sprung

Forty-one degrees. No, this is not the expected temperature for this first day of spring. It is the difference between last year’s high of 66 degrees and today’s forecasted high of 20 degrees.

In fact, the 2012 annual temperature was 3.2 percent above the 20th century average, making it the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

This year, we are on Mother Nature’s elusive timeframe, yo-yoing between temperatures, precipitation types and layers of clothes.

So, the signs of spring may not be evident as last year’s greening earth, flip-flop inviting, downright balmy days.

But just know every drop of melting snow and every growing pothole means more minutes of sunlight, climbing temperatures, budding trees and, of course, babies. From ducks to cows to bunnies, the cute creatures are popping up everywhere.

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