アネモネ (Anemone)

　アネモネ（キンポウゲ科）、和名ボタンイチゲ（牡丹一華）。2012年3月19日、わが家の庭で撮影。

　昨日は、わが国の自然が「暑さ寒さも彼岸まで」の言い習わしを忘れてしまったかのように、やや寒い春分の日だったが、春はすぐそこまで来ている。

　追記：この冬、日本では平年より寒かったが、アメリカ東部では暖かかったそうだ。文献1（英文の後）参照。

Anemone; botanical name, Anemone coronaria; family, Ranunculaceae. The photo was taken in our yard on March 19, 2012.

Yesterday, it was a pretty cold Vernal Equinox Day as if nature of our country forgot the saying, "Just as hot weather does not last past the autumnal equinox, cold weather does not last past the spring equinox." However, spring seems to be just around the corner.

Note added later: In Japan, it was colder than usual this winter, but in the eastern U.S., it was warmer than usual. See Ref. 1.

Reference

1. Joe Rao and SPACE.com, "Spring arrives with equinox Tuesday, earliest in more than a century: Spring is arriving early in a meteorological sense in the eastern U.S., and in an astronomical sense as well, making its earliest arrival since 1896." Scientific American (March 19, 2012).