Spring

• Spring in ErinEarth Garden

Spring months in Australia are September, October, November

Spring officially begins 1 September in Australia, but other countries use the spring equinox in late September as the official beginning of spring.

What causes Spring?

As the earth rotates around the sun the the distance from the sun changes for the northern and southern hemispheres. This change is due to the tilt on the earth's axis. See more information on seasons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuiQvPLWziQ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season.

The equinox occurs when the earth's tilt is about parallel with the sun, this means that the length of day and night are equal, hence the name equinox. After the spring equinox the southern hemisphere begins to tilt closer to the sun. The sun also appears to be moving across the sky more to the south. As a result of the changes, the length of daylight becomes longer.

Spring weather

The last frost might occur towards the end of spring as December approaches. The warmer day and night temperatures mean that any rain that falls will begin to evaporate more quickly.

What is happening?

Plants

• The warmer moist soil conditions means plants will begin to put on new growth.
• Deciduous trees will burst their leaf and flower buds for a lovely show of bright green and diverse colour.

Animals

Animals will become more active again as food becomes more available.

• Migratory birds will begin to move.
  • Those birds that moved north like the Rainbow Bee-eaters and Sacred Kingfishers will begin to appear.
  • The Currawongs will leave Wagga Wagga for the cooler mountain areas to the east.
• Insect numbers and variety will increase as all the eggs begin to hatch.
• Spiders will begin to appear in webs.
• Lizards and snakes will move from their winter hiding places to bask in warm areas of the garden.
• The frogs will begin to appear and may breed in late spring.See Tadpole development.

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